


3KK: Kaleidoscope (Shiro III)

by crumbcake



Series: Three Kids Klance [16]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aging, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Domestic, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, Family, Mental Anguish, Mental Health Issues, Mild Painplay, Multi, Panties, Parenthood, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:11:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 50,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26430157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crumbcake/pseuds/crumbcake
Summary: Sometimes, no matter what we do, we lose the long, arduous battle, but we have to keep trying as it's the only way to win the war. (e.g. Keith deals with everyone's issues, including his own.)Note that explicit chapters are labelled (sex between Keith and Lance). Likely chapters 10 and 11.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Series: Three Kids Klance [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/843675
Comments: 92
Kudos: 120





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place about a year before El Año Viejo. Ages - Keith:42 Lance:41 OC offspring - Clara:25 Shiro:16 Saul:11 
> 
> I'm hoping the story is one you can dig your teeth into!

> From Collins English Dictionary:
> 
> **Kaleidoscope**
> 
> **in American English**
> 
> (kəˈlaidəˌskoup)
> 
> **Word origin**
> 
> < Gr kalos, beautiful + eidos, form (see -oid) + -scope
> 
> NOUN
> 
>   1. an optical instrument in which bits of glass, held loosely at the end of a rotating tube, are shown in continually changing symmetrical forms by reflection in two or more mirrors set at angles to each other
>   2. a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors
>   3. a continually shifting pattern, scene, or the like
> 


Keith's daughter, Clara, traveled light which was probably a good thing since her method of moving involved gathering as much as she could in her arms and on arrival at her new place, dumping the stuff on the nearest flat surface. Only her tools would be spared such treatment which at the moment were carefully stacked in a neat cubby shelf behind her.

"Where are you now?" Keith watched his daughter pick through a carton of wiggling fungus as she plopped down on a cramped looking pull-down cot, "I'm on Puig." she said, munching.

"I meant where on Puig."

"Oh. Like the boondocks. I'm in my new place." Clara waved briefly at her surroundings.

"Your new place looks like the back of a Galra commuter shuttle." said Keith, suspicious. That pull down cot looked a whole lot like a cheap camper mattress hastily set over auxiliary seating.

"Mm," she tipped her head back, shaking the remaining food into her mouth, "That's because it is."

"So you're homeless."

Keith heard a loud snort nearby and glanced at his alpha who was sitting in the hotel room's study area, one of his earbuds loose. He was wrapping up some work before going to bed for the night (or rather, morning).

She rolled her eyes, "Maaa. I got food. There is a roof over my head which I paid for and I got my very own beacon address. Not homeless," she shrugged,"It's a one movement contract anyway."

Keith watched in silence as she tossed the carton aside and reached for something just off camera.

"I can hear you judging me." she singsonged before taking a sip from a sealed container.

"You're a full grown adult, Clara. Do what you want."

" _Thank_ _you_. It's about time you acknowledge that I'm a fully realized, all grown up, very responsible - ahh!!"

The magnetic brackets supporting her cot failed suddenly, spilling Clara onto the floor. There was a fold down shelf right above her that dropped an avalanche of e-tablets, kitchenware, crumpled tissues, and other unidentifiable knickknacks over her head.

Keith snorted. 

"Did it happen again?" asked Lance without bothering to look.

"Of course, it happened again." His eyes landed on the static screen of one of the many tablets; Spring Eternal language he noted. It made sense. Recently, his daughter had dropped by the planet which they had once resided on. She had visited old friends and minders from the Wellspring.

"Hey, you have a big mess of clutter, too!" she accused.

"Mami has never been Clara level." Lance called out, bored.

When she slid her arms back for balance, her hand knocked against the tablet, causing the screen to materialize behind her, magnified. The open panel was written in Spring Eternal's dominant culture coding which drew Keith's attention to the alien syntax that he recognized instantly from his own personal experience; clinical tense for 'Wellspring Sanatorium', 'adult onset', 'probability', and 'premature birth complication'. 

**_Premature birth complication._ ** Full stop. Keith's blood ran cold.

"Clara." 

"What? You can't make me clean up, this is my house."

"Why do you have a personalized clinic summary from the Wellspring Sanatorium?"

She had been brushing herself off when she stiffened and looked at Keith, wide-eyed. 

"Uhhh...what?" Clara looked behind herself, "Ah shit, dammit." 

She closed the panel and sighed.

Keith glanced at Lance to gauge his bondmate's response and caught him sitting back on his chair watching _him_ , expression cryptic. No hint of surprise, whatsoever. Whatever it was, Lance already _knew_. Keith frowned and looked back at his daughter.

"Why were you at the Sanatorium?" 

"Look." She drew her hands up in surrender, "It wasn't a big deal. I didn't want you to worry that's all."

Keith frowned even more darkly.

"I went and got treated for heart failure and arrhythmia," she hurried through her next words, "which Wellspring _cured_ ; it's such a low-risk procedure, ma."

Keith gaped, "Heart failure?"

"It sounds way worse than what it was!"

"She felt tired. Her heart wasn't pumping the way it should," said Lance. "The sanatorium corrected the issue. Medspring confirmed one hundred percent recovery and forecasted a point zero one percent chance of complications or side effects. Clara is just fine."

Keith's brain got stuck on the reason his daughter had any issue at all in the first place. If he had simply taken care of himself, he wouldn't have had his first child so prematurely. Clara wouldn't have been brought into the world as a stillborn. He would've recognized that he had been in labor and would've never left the castleship.

He eyed his daughter. 

"You should've told me." he breathed.

She cocked her head, eyes going to her dad and back again. Her tone was a mix of irritation, worry, and gentle chiding when she said, "Mami, see? That's what I didn't want. You're making a big deal over nothing. It's really not a big deal. It's not anything at all."

He nodded, "I know."

"Mami." She groaned. The connection glitched, Clara glanced off screen, "Transmission window is closing." 

"Okay, love you, Clara."

"Love you. Please don't beat yourself up over this big nothing."

He waved at her, not making any promises that he did not intend to keep. The connection glitched again, then cut off completely.

Keith glanced down at the call summary as Lance shut down his notes. He sat by Keith, dropping an arm around his shoulders. He was still wearing the top half of the Garrison staff uniform.

On rare occasions, their work lives crossed paths. Select One World Garrisons' personnel were gathered from all corners of the globe for round-the-clock, cross-functional learning at the Buenos Aires training complex (for the annual 'Garrison Week'). It kept them away from home for a solid week which wasn't so stressful anymore with the kids being older. 

Lance had triple the workload - Keith would be starting the day just as Lance was returning from a full night of instructing. They sometimes had a meal together or attended a common event or two.

"You knew." Keith accused, wasting no time.

"Yeah, she told me." Lance confirmed, "She didn't want me to tell you and I thought she was right. I know you, Kitten,"

Keith stared at him, especially at the tired lines under his eyes.

"I know you're mad." said Lance.

Keith would've laid into him right then and there but Lance was exhausted and he had another day worth of seminars to get through. There was something else between them, too, that Keith wanted to address - Keith couldn't quite figure out what was wrong but Lance had been acting oddly the few times they gathered together at social events during the week.

Worse yet; Keith had little time to properly mull over his daughter's news given his own workload plus dealing with another family member; his son, Shiro. Which reminded him, he had to resolve that situation. There was just not enough time for everything.

"You need your rest," Keith huffed.

Lance gave him a brief squeeze, "We'll talk when things calm down. I'm gonna take a quick shower then straight to bed. You?"

"Gym." Keith answered mulishly then sighed. He hated holding back. "Then I'm checking in on the kids. Then breakfast then seminar."

Lance nodded and gave Keith a sweet peck on the lips.

Keith headed for the gym. He spent his time thinking about his daughter instead of digging for details on his son's mischief which was a mistake.


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Lance's son, Shiro, is in some serious hot water with mom.

Keith sat on the edge of the bed, fresh from a hot shower after his workout. He glanced back at Lance while pinging Shiro. His alpha was buried under blankets, sleeping like the dead. It was not surprising when one proctored all fourteen sessions of a seminar back to back.

The call screen shook, evidence of hasty fingers accepting the call and flicking the display off the comm to hover in projection-mode. The bioID indicated 'Saul' just as his youngest son materialized on screen. Or he could only assume it was his youngest; it was hard to tell whether there was a little omega boy under all that shaggy black hair or an old english sheepdog. 

"Hi mami!"

"Hi, baby. Can you see through that?"

Saul pinned his bangs back in a hairclip he retrieved from his pocket, revealing his stunning eyes and soft smile.

"I can see fine. It's really humid."

Keith cracked up, "Saul. Humidity has never done that to your hair."

"I know," he sighed, "I have to help it." He turned suddenly, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting at the general area behind him, "MAMI IS CALLING YOU." He turned back just as quickly and made himself comfortable on his brother's bed. "Shiro is in the bathroom, he's coming," He explained.

Keith watched his son perch his favorite acoustic guitar on his lap and take a deep breath.

"I composed a new song. It's called 'Trail of Ashes', may I play it for you?"

"I would love to hear it," Keith could eat his son's earnestness; it was cute.

Saul took another deep breath and held it. Whenever he played his music, Saul seemed transported away by it. He could perfectly capture feelings with carefully composed notes. Keith's youngest seemed to have an innate connection to the universe's heartbeat. His shyness faded away whenever he sang.

He breathed out, easing into a quiet intro that created a sombre mood. Saul sang, voice rich and mature beyond his age. He radiated pain as he crooned through mournful lyrics and scorching sparse chords. The song literally took Keith's breath away. He stared at his son in wonder - worried even. Was his youngest going through something?

Keith smiled as the song came to an end.

"That was beautiful, Saul," Keith said, hushed, "Why is it so sad?"

Saul pressed his guitar to himself, crossing his arms over the body and running his gaze across the room as if searching for answers, "The sad parts need to be heard, too," He decided, "It's important." He shifted gears, pouting briefly and whined, "Could I please stay home tonight with Shiro?"

What a relief when his son actually sounded like an eleven year old boy instead of a depressed six hundred year old Galra that had serious regrets on their life choices. 

"Don't you like hanging out with Aunt Emily?" Keith teased.

Saul sucked in his bottom lip and swivelled his hand at the wrist in the so-so gesture, "I like my room better."

Keith chuckled. He noted movement behind Saul and eyed his older son's bandage wraps which were slowly sliding off the edge of the desk. Shiro used those for boxing practice. Where was he?

"What's taking Shiro so long?"

Saul shrugged, "Pooping?" and promptly dropped back, shouting at the ceiling, "SHIRO MAMI WANTS TO TALK TO YOU."

"I said I'm coming!"

"He will be here very soon. Please could I stay? I can keep watch on Shiro." That gaze was all mischief, "He needs a lot of babysitting."

A pillow landed on his face making him 'oomph!'.

Shiro landed on the bed, shortly after. He was the same height as his younger brother though they were different in most other ways. Shiro had big eyes, caramel-pecan skin and buzzed short hair while his younger brother was pale (though perpetually golden-hued under Cuban sun) and had his mom and sister's jet black hair. In where Shiro's resting face was set at pouting and mildly suspicious; Saul's was serene joy. Yet, Saul was the more guarded of the two by far. His guitar bounced in his brother's wake, perilously close to tipping over the edge which Saul scrambled to stop. He shoved Shiro in the process.

"Be careful," he complained, quietly.

"Hi mami," Shiro said just as he pushed Saul straight off the bed. His brother had a noisy landing on top of the junk scattered across the floor. Keith could see his youngest had stuck his guitar in the air, sacrificing himself for his beloved musical instrument.

Keith shook his head, not bothering with their antics. "Hey, yourself."

Saul climbed back onto the bed, rubbing his arm. "Ow, Shiro." Shiro glanced at him and dropped an arm over Saul's shoulder, hauling him in, "Sorry."

"It's okay, I liked it. Your trash floor smells better than you." 

A laugh from Saul as he's shoved off the bed again.

"Did you brush your teeth?" Keith asked, disarming his son immediately; not wanting him to cotton on that something was up before Keith had a chance to observe him for longer. He watched Saul clamber back onto the bed, laying on his side and resting the guitar flat over the mattress. He idly plucked at the strings.

"Did I what?!" Squawked Shiro, rearing back. 

"How old do you think I am?!" he demanded, getting worked up, "Even  _ Saul _ -" he whipped around to say very pointedly at his brother "-who is an  _ infant-"  _

Saul merely cocked his head and smiled as if it were the most pleasant thing he had ever heard.

"-is too old for that question! You should be asking me if I'm having house parties or if I'm making sure that Saul's taking his vitamins!" 

There was some kind of underlying anxiousness behind that very normal response of his. Keith often stood around with his arms crossed, out of habit and so did his son but it was usually interrupted by energetic gestures as he moved from one soapbox topic to the next, the way it was now. That being said, his body language was more outsized than usual, like he was overplaying his own reaction.

"I don't take vitamins," chirped Saul. He sat up, properly holding the guitar.

Shiro briefly frowned at his brother, then narrowed his eyes at the comm screen, looking past Keith's right shoulder. "Is that papi? Did you kill him?"

"Yes."

Saul frowned, looking up, clearly not liking the joke which made Keith feel guilty immediately. He smiled at his youngest son, apologetically. "He's sleeping, baby. He had a very long shift."

He watched Shiro lean back and half-heartedly shove his brother by his shoulder, "Ugh, Saul. You think mami would just sit there like that if papi was dead?"

Saul gave his brother a sheepish smile then relaxed back into playing his guitar. Keith stood and headed out of the bedroom of the suite that the Garrison had put them in. He shut the door behind him while he watched his sons. 

"Anyway," said Shiro, "When are you back?"

"Why so interested?" Keith asked as he slouched back on a sofa, throwing his feet up on the coffee table. "Enlarge the screen, please." 

"I gotta plan that house party." His son said, dryly. He refreshed the view to a larger overhead display. The tech captured whatever was facing the display and transmitted it, resulting in the screen working like a virtual window pane. Keith eyed his sons critically and their surroundings.

Shiro's room (which was formerly Clara's room before she moved out) was its regular mess of animated displays both miniature and life-sized, stray boxing gear, dirty clothes and several bookmarked inactive screens scattered across Shiro's desk and window alcove bench where Saul had just sat. Nothing seemed amiss. They were safe and sound at least physically for the moment. 

Although he was in the sitting room, Keith made a concerted effort not to hush his voice for the next thing he had to say. He didn't want Lance to wake up and get involved; his alpha was more likely to sleep through Keith chiding one of the kids in his normal voice rather than him whispering; which Lance might subconsciously note as unusual and therefore, wake up and come investigate. 

"You wouldn't do that. You wouldn't endanger my trust in you," he tested. Shiro had been leaning back on his elbows, his hands casually balled resting over the mattress. His knuckles went white.

"Yeah," his oldest son said, half-shrugging.

Strange. Keith looked at his younger son again. Saul was very carefully not looking at Shiro, completely focused on his guitar which could be a tell that something was up. Keith held back a sigh, annoyed at having to fish for the troublemaking. He turned his focus back on his eldest son, feeling like an overworked police detective in a bad crime stream. If his kids wanted to get away with murder, Clara would be caught immediately, Saul would gently charm and redirect people to look the other way and Shiro would plan for every circumstance and cover his tracks so well that he would never get caught if it weren't for his blurted confessions.

He was not in the mood to slowly press Shiro into admitting whatever he'd been up to. He wanted his son to knock it off as soon as possible so Keith could focus on the seminars and then have his fight with Lance and then think about how he failed his daughter in relative peace. Keith stepped out of the hotel room and straight into one of the floor's Quiet rooms which happened to be next door. These were single occupancy sitting spaces that had sound fence tech installed. They were the only areas in the hotel to have them due to Argentina's restrictions on use of the technology. 

Keith planned to strike at the heart of the matter, chew out his son if necessary then go have breakfast.

"I'm surprised you have time for planning when you're so busy manipulating our security logs."

Both his sons' heads jerked up, Shiro turning white as a ghost. Keith saw Saul scoot off the bench, mouth parting and cut him off before he could try to cover for his brother. 

"I wouldn't if I were you," he warned causing Saul to shrink back. Instead, he hurried over to his brother to take his hand. That set alarm bells off in Keith's head that Shiro (or maybe the both of them) did something bigger than usual. 

His youngest would typically wince when he witnessed his brother get in trouble but keep playing whatever instrument he was practicing or smile and playfully tease Shiro for getting grounded. If Saul was feeling that worried then Keith had reason for concern. Time to put the squeeze on his mark. First, separate the possible co-conspirators. 

"Baby." Said Keith firmly, making sure he had Saul's full attention. "Go to Aunt Emily's place, please. Or you can visit Enrique's if you like. I'll ping you later. "

If Saul was involved in the hijinks, he wouldn't risk getting lectured at his friend's house. Saul exchanged looks with his brother.

"Mami..." he started but Shiro interrupted, "Go hang with Enrique, Saul. It's okay."

Okay, so either Shiro was protecting Saul or Saul had nothing to do with it. Saul glanced at Keith and back again. He gave them the briefest of nods before slinging his guitar on his back and walking out, giving them one last worried look right as he shut the bedroom door behind him.

Shiro's shoulders bunched together as he turned and faced off with mom. Keith glared at his son, preparing for a minor battle. At least with Shiro he didn't have to deal with a tear down battle of wills like he had with Clara back when she was a teenager. 

"The tampering stops now."

"Yes, mami." Said Shiro, growing paler, like he was frightened half to death. 

Not a trace of his typical indignant whining. It gave Keith pause. He was really regretting not investigating why his son was manipulating their security tech, assuming it was something that would annoy him but not be of real concern. Shiro generally followed the rules, was honest and had excellent grades at school so Keith gave him freedom to roam.

"Why were you manipulating the logs?"

Usually, Shiro would confess any and all wrongdoing in a weepy stream of consciousness but not this time. This time he was silent. 

"Shiro."

His face twisted and he set his shoulders like he was steeling himself.

"It doesn't matter."

Now, he was triggering Keith's temper. "Are you sure you want to go down that path?"

"You're forcing me to!"

"Shiro, I'm warning you."

His son hesitated, fighting back tears. He opened his mouth then closed it again and said nothing.

"This will be a lot worse for you if I have to find out for myself what you have been up to."

"The-" Shiro's voice cracked, briefly failing him, "The logs can't be salvaged. I made sure of it."

Keith froze, staring in silence, not quite believing his ears. Insubordination! That's it. He was no tech expert but years in reconnaissance had made him adept enough with certain tools; his home's security tools were a breeze. He flicked Shiro's display so it disappeared from his comm's physical screen and rematerialized as a small hovering panel. He then pulled the security routines and dug in, first launching the alerts that were triggered by the unusual access to the application. Clara had a knack for engineering and related coding, but Shiro was very smart and very resourceful. Whatever he did was good enough to not trigger any warnings of data manipulation.

All civilian security tools gave full control of the tool to the admin including deleting footage and record information. The souped-up Pidge versions made the admin user  _ believe _ they had full control of the application. Shiro managed to replace the actual images and recorded footage as well as the history logs. He even replaced each frame related to the 'unusual access' warning with impressively clean deep fakes. 

Keith briefly side-eyed his son (who was watching like he wanted to faint or burst into tears) as he kept digging. What was worth such lengths?!

The trick to Pidge's version was that the audit trail was virtually indestructible - it would replicate itself when accessed. Shiro managed to discover some of that too, Keith realized. A comparison scan of the trails revealed that two versions of the audit trails contained no biosignature activities other than Shiro, Saul, Aunt Emily, and two of Saul's friends. The other copies included several additional biosignatures. Shiro had not known that the replicated audit trail had spread like a virus across several seemingly unrelated databanks.

Keith projected one of the undoctored audit trails for a better view. He could recover the actual image loops but for now, he focused on the list of unfamiliar biosignatures as well as the time stamps for when they crossed the perimeter threshold of the house. He heard an audible gasp from Shiro when he caught sight of the extra biosignatures. 

"Mami, wait, wait!"

Keith pulled up the biosignature profiles - all locked with demographic details pointing to guardianship contact information meaning they were underage kids. Three were over the age of eighteen which unsettled him (one was twenty-two!). Two of those were betas and one was an alpha.

As for the underage profiles, none of the guardian names were familiar. The few where the kids' names were available did not look familiar either. Keith pulled all the event logs that were missing from Shiro's doctored version, first checking his son's information. Shiro would come home, sometimes with Saul who was actually staying with Aunt Emily for the week, then Shiro would go back out the second Aunt Emily checked in on him and would return hours later.

"You broke curfew. I'm disappointed in you, Shiro. You promised you would be responsible if I let you stay at the house for the week."

"Nothing bad happened!" Shiro replied, voice high-pitched.

Keith then accessed the event logs by timestamp sort instead of biosignature sort. For the last four evenings, Shiro and several other biosignatures returned to the house late at night then the other biosignatures would leave some time later that night. It was different biosignatures each time.

Keith grew furious as he tried to find more information on the biosignatures, more certain that he didn't recognize any of them, "I don't know any of these  _ guests _ of yours, Shiro. Who are they?"

He did not like strangers in the house. One of the house rules was that his kids must introduce their friends to Keith or Lance before they could come inside unsupervised. Shiro never broke that rule. He even introduced his dates and confided to Keith when he brought his boyfriend/girlfriend home and had sex. Keith rather that his son be honest and safe at home than what may happen otherwise.

"It's none of your business!"

"My house is my business. My underage son is my business. Why was there a revolving door of strangers spending the night in our house? Start talking." 

"We were organizing protests! They weren't strangers! I even ran a criminal activity check-"

Keith interrupted, "You and these not-strangers were returning to the house late at night to organize a protest?"

"Yes!"

"You broke curfew." He repeated. "Why were they in the house? Why didn't you talk to me or your Aunt Emily?" Keith demanded. 

"I was organizing before curfew but there wasn't enough time so I brought them over! I didn't think it was a big deal."

"If you thought it wasn't a big deal then you wouldn't have gone through the trouble of faking out our security system."

His son visibly winced. He buried his face in his hands.

The most irritating part was the pattern of activity. 

"Each night one of those visitors stayed much longer than the rest, Shiro. Why?" 

Shiro stiffened. He looked up and their eyes met. "Mama...please..." he begged in a tearful whisper.

_ Don't make me say it _ . 

In that long painful look that they shared, they both understood what the other knew.

"One of the  _ four _ not-strangers that you had sex with was an eighteen year old. Almost nineteen." Keith said very calmly despite feeling anything but - his son was mowing through sexual partners!

Shiro understood the implications, immediately. He paled, "Mami, that's only two years older than me. He didn't coerce me. He didn't do anything I didn't want!

"You're not old enough to consent. At your age two years is a huge difference."

Shiro shook his head as if he were trying to somehow shake off reality. "I knew what I was doing and I knew what I wanted! You can't - Mami I've been having heats since eight, sex since twelve - you  _ know _ I shared my heat for the first time at thirteen. My consent is  _ informed _ and I'm competent enough -"

"We're not having this discussion right now." Keith cut him off, "I trusted you to act responsibly and take care of yourself and your brother if he was over. You betrayed that. Unless the house is on fire, not one single step outside, do you understand me?"

Shiro protested weakly, "It's  _ my _ body-"

" _ Don't _ ."

"Mami-" started Shiro.

"I don't want to hear it, Shiro," Keith fumed. Four complete strangers, including a whole grown ass adult, and back to back at that. He thought he had a good relationship with Shiro and this was  _ not _ like him. "Your behavior these last few days really throws off your competent-to-consent argument," At that, Shiro blushed hotly and hung his head. 

"You're  _ suffocating  _ and _ mean _ ." Shiro half-sobbed, "I'm not gonna live up to whatever insane expectations you've dreamed up for me. Living with you is like living under a totalitarian reign of terror-."

Keith felt his temper really hit the roof; personally, asking his kid to keep it in his pants at least sometimes and stop lying wasn't too much to ask. "Shiro-"

Shiro snatched his comm and jammed his finger towards it. The screen cut out. 

Keith's mouth gaped. 

He shook his comm and checked the connectivity bandwidth because there was no  _ fucking _ way that his son just hung up on him. His comm's broadcast range and One World data stream remained a steady and uninterrupted connection. Oh my god, his son actually hung up on him. Keith shot off the chair, furiously pinging Shiro. 

"Tiny evil son of a tyrant, pick up." He muttered to himself.

_ Shiro has blocked the transmission. Override? _

"He's grounded for life. His future kids are grounded. All future generations are grounded." Keith swore as he accepted the prompt.The comm chimed.

An unfamiliar face and voice answered, "[Santiago Behavioral Health]."

Keith stared, not comprehending. He hung up and re-pinged. The same end user picked up. Keith cut the connection again and checked the call activity. His call was getting rerouted at Shiro's end. Shiro had forwarded his calls to...Keith selected the contact details... a psychotherapy facility specializing in anger management. Keith's head could've exploded right off his neck, he was so angry. 

He shoved the Quiet room door open and stomped into his hotel room, heading straight for the closet.

"Keith?" called out Lance.

Keith threw on a pair of running shoes and marched back out. 

He fumed, "I'm going back to Cuba to kill our son. Cancel my itinerary today." He threw open the hotel room door, "Cancel everything!" He shouted as he let the door slam shut. 

Keith speed walked in the direction of the One World skylines, recalling his jetcar. Soon, the car was zipping along the auto valet lane. He tried not to tear the door off the hinges when it arrived and calmly settled into the piloting seat. He immediately accessed family permissioning as he headed for the skylines and triggered a tracker on Shiro. Any access point he touched would update his biosignature details back to his guardian. Keith overrode Shiro's forwarding setup and sent one simple message to his son - GROUNDED.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've actually finished writing this story and am in the middle of editing the last few chapters. I'll post one or two chapters at a time throughout the week. Also, currently there is no 'Shiro II', just I and III - I skipped the middle one for the moment as I'm still working on that installment. :) Anyway, hope you enjoyed!


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro keeps trying to escape consequences while Keith unwittingly joins a protest.

By the time Keith reached Cuba, his temper had downgraded to a low simmer. He would've been even calmer except for the fact that he kept tabs on his son's whereabouts and Shiro was very much disobeying him, wandering around the neighborhood, paying his friends a visit. The latest biolocator flag had his son at the bus stop in the town square.

Keith eased into the autobus lane and glided to a stop right behind the bus that had arrived. There Shiro was standing near the back corner of the stop, looking down at his feet, perhaps thinking that he could blend in with the mural behind him. Fat chance.

"Shiro." Keith watched his son squirm and refuse to look at him. Keith continued, voice clipped, "Get in the car.  _ Now _ ."

Bizarrely one of the neighbor's kids who was also waiting for the bus appeared to jump in panic and head for Keith. 

"No, not you, Belkis. You can get on the bus. You're fine."

It was just enough of a distraction for his son to hop into the bus right as the doors closed. He was squeezed in tight by the window, unable to find a better spot. Okay, the fury was back. Keith stared down the pair of defiant yet frightened purple eyes that he and Lance had spawned for clearly self-torturing purposes. They stared at each other, Keith's own expression promising a righteous reckoning as the bus slid off the port stop. 

This child was triggering Keith on all cylinders. He had half a mind of chasing the bus down, ripping the metal roof off like the tin top of a sardine can so he could snatch his son and end him. He imagined slapping his son's head off his neck, spanking and/or exorcising the demon out of him and tying his untied shoelaces as that was the dumbest tripping hazard of a fashion statement, he'd ever seen in his life. Somewhere in his fantasy world, a boxing bell rang.

Keith counted to ten, five times. That stupid human technique was crap for Galra tempers.

"Violence is detrimental. I would never hurt my children," he informed Belkis and himself. Which the girl was still standing there probably scared half to death by his pheromone spike of rage.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to distract himself by staring at the sun until it hurt, which Shiro discovered the Galra could do without sight damage and Keith had enough Galra in him for that dumb trick; but, that would probably further freak out the teenager standing in front of him.

Okay. Unless he wanted to be in the evening news stream, he needed to cool down before he dealt with his son. Plus, he owed Belkis a lift.

"Sorry you missed the bus. Where were you headed?"

She instantly cheered up at the prospect of riding in the cool jetcar, enraged neighbor mom or not."The skating rink." She chirped.

He nodded and reached for his comm, "Hop in. I'll take you there." He texted her parents to inform them and took off for the rink that he knew was popular with the neighborhood kids.

He glanced at Belkis' shoes.

"Tie your shoelaces."

* * *

Of all places, he found Shiro at an Omega Emancipation march, near the front of the crowd leading a call and response chant. Keith hated crowds, especially this one. He took a deep breath and headed down the hill to wade into enemy territory. 

"Omegas united, will never be divided!" 

Keith could scent the strong emotions and noted the exchange of smiles and kinship among the young protesters. He walked in lockstep with one group and casually joined another, slowly weaving his way towards the bullhorn source.

"We are unstoppable! A better world is possible!"

"Whose heat is it?"

"Our heats!"

Keith had made it to the outer edge of Shiro's circle of friends. He let himself be discovered by them and Shiro. He did not want to fully ambush his son. A friend tapped Shiro's shoulder and whispered into his ear. He looked back, locking eyes with Keith then promptly ducked into the crowds. Huh, impressive vanishing act. 

It didn't work for long as Shiro was still leading the chants, although every time Keith got close, he disappeared. 

It got old, fast.

Keith loaded a bullhorn app and linked up to the protest network. He moved to the very edge of the march, where Shiro had a clear view of him.

He used the app, his voice booming over the march, coming from all of the devices networked into the march including several airborne drones."You're in big trouble." He adjusted the volume.

The crowd of young people booed and jeered as Keith watched his son. Keith noticed the marchers in the sense of being aware of the mood in his surroundings but was otherwise unaffected.

"Free yourself from the entrenched suppression of your own omega body!" somebody yelled.

"It's the alpha supremacy that's in big trouble!!" cried another voice in the crowd.

"Emstinct!" someone else called out in disdain, alluding to Keith's generation which was referred to by the latter roman numerals of the century they were born in - MMC. MC. Mocked by the turn of the century MMCC ('CC') generations using a play on the word 'Extinct'

Shiro kept his gaze trained on his mom as he declared on the network, "There is only one person that has jurisdiction over my body and what I choose to do with it.  _ Me _ ."

The marchers cheered.

"Wrong!" Keith pointed a finger at Shiro "You're underage. I have a lien against that body of yours until your eighteenth birthday."

Thunderous boos followed.

"Open your eyes, emstinct!" Someone threw a paper cup at Keith which he evaded easily. Others started to do the same, throwing garbage.

"Leave him alone!" Shiro cried, horrified. He hurried to put himself between the crowd and Keith, arms spread as did a few other omegas that Keith recognized as other teens from the neighborhood. 

"Omegas united!" His son reminded. The crowd stirred, a kind of communal grumble of confusion and unclear opinion. Shiro frowned, they stood still in the middle of the march as protesters walked past them. Lots and lots of protesters. It was a surprisingly well attended march. 

Shiro turned, modifying his comm suddenly and materialized a panel that he flicked towards Keith. 

"What's this?" Keith had to shout to be heard.

"It's our petition for Full Omega Emancipation. We're presenting the petition to the One Earth Cuban Council," Shiro yelled back, "Sign."

Keith skimmed it and flicked the panel back to his son.

"You didn't sign!"

"I don't sign purity oaths."

"It's not a purity oath!"

"Yes, it is."

Shiro's face pinched in consternation as he drew closer to be heard. His friends stepped closer, too. Keith purposely kept his hands relaxed and his limbs loose. He really didn't like crowds. 

"Mami, this is simple. Black and white here. Do you believe in full emancipation of omegas? Yes or no."

Keith frowned, staring at his son's determined look, "You think you know everything, but you don't."

"If you're not for omega rights than you are against them," Shiro lectured, "Full emancipation for all starts with three simple decrees," he began reciting them, " Freedom from harassment, penalty-free heat, and freedom to work. What part of  _ that _ do you disagree with?!"

Keith stared. He was actually here to nab his son and talk (yell) about the troublemaking he stirred up for himself. However. Keith could teach his son a thing or two about coalitions. He had been around that bend a few times. Keith stepped closer.

"The majority of One Jupiter omegas advocate for stronger Family First laws. I hear about their One World lobbies for broader stay-at-home incentives so more omegas across the Terran home worlds would stay home. It runs in direct opposition of all freedom to work declarations. Can they join the cause?"

Shiro threw his arms up. "Mami, you  _ know _ that is backwards thinking!"

"Do I? What's your answer?"

"The answer is no! Of course not! We are asking for  _ full _ emancipation. They want to undo the progress made so far, that is just step one! If the majority of One Jupiter omegas want to be backwards then they can stay behind!"

"Like I said, purity oath. You just argued against your own omegas united position."

"That's different and you know it," Said Shiro, exasperated, "You just want to argue with me!"

"If you want strength in numbers then you need to be less precious about your coalition. Discuss your points of view in good faith. Lose the attitude and find a truce or a common ground or at least try to understand each other. You need all the allies you can get on this."

"What attitude are you talking about?!"

Keith snorted, crossing his arms as he regarded his son, "You think you know what's best for all omegas. You already decided that One Jupiter omegas' point of view is backwards. This is how you help your opponent divide and conquer."

"Principles are important."

"Yes, but evaluate the subtleties of your principles." Keith countered immediately. Lance, his old-teammate Shiro, or Lotor would be proud of him.

Shiro let out a frustrated noise, " _ You _ believe in freedom to work!" 

"I like some of the Family First incentives."

His son looked scandalized as did his friends. Shiro shook his head then turned on his heel and stomped away, straight out of the protest. Well, that wasn't much of an answer. 

Keith followed his son, mildly perplexed at his reaction. He and Lance drilled into their kids the idea that they had to face the music for their actions for better or worse. Instead, Shiro walked away again. Now, Keith had to slow chase his son as if he were in some Blade espionage mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behind the scenes - Shiro asked that girl at the bus stop to distract Keith if he showed up. lol


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Shiro face off. Things go awry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: This chapter gets a little tense! Trigger warnings for PTSD / mental health / poor decision. [brackets mean spoken in Spanish]

He followed Shiro down the tree-lined road, up a grassy hill, across a pedestrian bridge and through an airbus hub. Shiro seemed to think he could lose his tail by making sudden turns or simply outrunning his mom but Keith could do this chase thing, blindfolded. They reached the vine-covered fences that bordered the city boardwalks. Shiro broke into a run at times and Keith continued to trail him. He subtly herded his son towards the piers without Shiro realizing it.

The more Shiro fled the more worried Keith felt. This wasn't  _ like _ him. Keith's temper had long cooled. He was debating whether to put an end to the chase when Shiro stopped abruptly, mid-stride.

"Stop stalking me!" his son screeched, whirling around at last. Shiro was very tactile, he would run to the nearest friend or family for a hug when he was upset. Usually, if he got upset with Keith, he would lean into his brother or Camilo.

Camilo. 

Camilo who had been notably absent the entire day.

"Where's Camilo?" Keith asked suddenly. He'd been so caught up in his son's wrongdoings, he assumed Camilo was nearby but he wasn't and hadn't been there at all.

Shiro stiffened, eyes filling with tears. He looked back, at last noticing his predicament. He was cornered at a popular fishing pier. The crowd was starting to give them a wide berth. He had nowhere to go outside of taking a steep dive or facing his mom who would certainly intercept any attempt at doubling back. He looked like he was considering the former. The choppy waters were a long way down from the pier...

Shiro shrugged, "How would I know?" He spat, viciously, "Camilo has a girlfriend. Ask her."

_ Huh. _ Keith stared at his son.

"What?" his son asked, face pinched. 

"Is the many sex partners thing about Camilo?" 

Several bystanders looked their direction in nosy interest.

Shiro turned red, blurting,"No! It's because I  _ love _ sex!"

Keith hated crowds; he noticed this one was quieting as he and Shiro argued. 

"Me too." 

He tried to ignore them and watched his son digest the unwelcome information with great satisfaction. He continued, "It doesn't mean I'm bagging partners left and right when I'm mad at your dad."

"You're bonded to papi, that's different! Camilo and I aren't bonded!" A sudden sob escaped him. Keith took a step forward, reaching for Shiro, wanting to comfort him but his son took a step back and turned away. "We're not even boyfriends! We - We're nothing!"

"I thought he was your best friend."

He could scent that his son was crying. He itched to get to him. Keith didn't get other people much but he knew his kids and his kids' close friends. He knew that Shiro had shared his heat with Camilo at fourteen and they've had a strange push and pull in their relationship ever since. Keith also knew that Camilo was withdrawn whenever Shiro was with someone. 

"So you have feelings for Camilo." Keith guessed.

"No. He's my best friend. I don't want to date him." Shiro kept a steadfast look at the fishing pier railing and it was making Keith nervous. He had instinctively raised the stakes, herding his son towards a choice of facing Keith or facing serious injury if he tried to escape. Who did that to their kid?

Keith was overcome immediately with guilt and regret. Maybe he really was too much for his sensitive son? He didn't think Shiro was suicidal but he was swept away emotionally...he looked so distraught that it suddenly occurred to Keith that it might be a real possibility that he might do something drastic. His heart began to race. Cornering Shiro at the fishing pier - a few stories high with rough currents, jagged rocks and man-made debris down below - was very, very stupid. 

"Shiro. Okay." He said gently, "Camilo... is growing up too. Don't you want him to be happy?"

"I'll jump!" Shiro cried, facing the ocean and took a step towards the railings. What the hell?!

Keith swallowed down his panic. This was all very irrational. He should be able to get to Shiro if he tried it, but there was always the possibility of failure. Other people were edging towards the railing too who might try to stop his son. Keith took a deep steadying breath. 

"I'll jump too, if you do," he promised.

"You can get hurt!" Shiro protested, then covered for caring by scoffing, "You know how to survive a fall. You'll be fine."

"My only prerogative is you. I won't let you get hurt," he said and let the implications hang between them.

"So you would die for me?" Shiro said as if the thought was ludicrous.

"Yes." Keith replied instantly, finding it ludicrous that his son might think otherwise.

He watched the rise and drop of his son's shoulders. He really wanted him in his arms. Keith gambled on a step forward. 

Shiro turned to look at him, demanding, "What about Saul or papi or even Clara for that matter?"

"What about them?"

"You're just gonna jump, save my butt and leave them without a mom or a bondmate?"

"They wouldn't have a mom or a bondmate left if you jump and I don't try to save you."

Shiro's eyes welled up with tears, his face horribly flushed, "Mami..."

Keith let the horror of that situation run its course in his head. His worst nightmare come true. "Clara and Saul would be broken if you tried to take their brother away from them," his voice trembled,"There wouldn't be any pieces left of me or your dad if you left us without our son."

"This is a stupid hypothetical!" Shiro yelled as if it had been anyone else's idea to introduce the hypothetical and marched away from the pier, keeping his distance. Keith didn't try to block him. 

He breathed out. 

"Yes, this is stupid." he said.

Shiro froze, spun around, tears spilling down his cheeks. "Mami..." His voice was ragged, heartbroken. He wiped at his eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop coming. "See this is what I'm talking about. Don't you see how you are?" he begged, "All I want is some support and all you ever do is judge me. If I make one wrong move you throw it back at my face and won't let me forget it. You find something wrong with everything I do. I can't stand it!" 

Keith didn't know how to give his son what he wanted. A lump formed in his throat. He felt broad-sided. He couldn't pin down the reason that his son was so upset; Camilo, the protests, him or what. To make things worse, Keith was growing more and more agitated by their surroundings. He couldn't turn off that situation awareness and several bystanders were not so discretely recording their fight. It felt like a violation of sorts and he wanted to tell them off but that would be more fodder to film. He's flashing back to Shiro at eight or nine years old, when all he wanted to do was step up to whatever grown-up had obviously noticed Shiro's scent and yell 'mind your own fucking business!" 

He ignored the strangers; focusing on them would make things worse between him and Shiro at the moment. "Shiro-"

"Please go," Shiro gasped, "Just leave me alone."

" _ No _ ." Keith growled, afraid of leaving his son alone in this condition. He had just threatened to jump off a pier! He wasn't about to leave Shiro out on the streets like this. Fuck this weird new situation. He had never had a fight like this with his son. Not even with Clara. Shiro looked at Keith like he was the reason for all that was wrong in life. 

"You've been following me all day! Just non-stop! Please just go,  _ please _ . I'm begging you."

"Shiro, I'm not leaving you out here like this." he stated, firmly, "We need to have a talk." Though the sliver of doubt had grown so much larger, was he truly overkill for his son? What was he doing that was so wrong? 

"We'll talk later." Said Shiro, bottom lip trembling.

It struck a nerve, despite Keith's worry. "You don't get to dictate the terms here," Keith made clear, "You betrayed my trust, neglected your brother, disrespected yourself and our home for-"

His son's scent was escalating and so was his. In his peripheral, Keith noticed someone separate themselves from the spectators which set him off on a very wrong kind of edge.

A young alpha moved to get in between Keith and Shiro which was intolerable. 

"Stop. Mind your business."

"You should leave him alone." said the teen boy.

Shiro, always tactile and opened to the world, backed up behind the boy, taking comfort in the unexpected support. The creepy crawly feelings began when an adult alpha also peeled away from the crowd to play interference, [ _ Mami _ , the alpha starts sympathetically, hands up in the universal sign for surrender,  _ Look at the state of your son- _ ] 

An old lethal switch was triggered inside Keith when he moved and the alpha moved too, blocking his view of Shiro. Unacceptable.

The world clouded, Keith will NOT let an enemy combatant- 

"Mami." That's Shiro's voice somewhere in the distance. "MAMI. MAMA, STOP!" His cries went shrill, " _ STOP _ !  _ STOP _ !" 

His son's screaming was filled with such primal terror that it cut through the fog, stopping Keith in his tracks. A part of his brain noted he lost the element of surprise given the shuffle back of his target. Keith assessed the wide-eyed, slack-jawed alpha dispassionately; he was still within range for a solid kick to the knee, fracturing it. Once he fell, Keith fully intended to stomp directly on his neck until it snapped.

Except the man wasn't a threat...

"MAMI!" his son shouted.

Shiro had pushed away from the teenager and into Keith's line of sight. He looked like a deer in headlights yet he wasn't in any immediate danger. More teens had gathered behind Shiro also looking at Keith in shock, probably more from Shiro's alarm rather than any fear for an omega mom. Keith backed up, crossing his arms, gaze landing on the adult alpha who seemed to have recovered his bearings. The man was probably dismissing his own instincts telling him that he'd been snared like prey experiencing a brush with death. It didn't square with the possible capabilities of the small, hysterical omega mom that stood before him. Keith couldn't possibly be dangerous. Not  _ really _ . 

The man stepped forward again, "[Now mami...]" he chastised. Patronizing, thinks he knows better, idiot alpha. He still stood there as if he thought it was his alpha duty to save Keith from himself and it really pissed Keith off. He stalked forward into the man's personal space, head craning up.

"Funny that you think you can take me," Keith mustered his nastiest most obnoxious smirk as he ridiculed, " _ Alpha _ ."

If he could get that man to respond physically then he would unleash on him. That the alpha might not engage because he thought he was sparing Keith or was extending some form of chivalrous mercy was infuriating.

Keith's son and the faces in the crowd started morphing into Clara and not human but still humanoid features. The alpha in front of him wasn't an alpha at all. Keith's head began to fill with loud buzzing. A part of him knew that he'd been here before. He remembered this moment.

_ No, no. This isn't right.  _

Keith looked back at Clara/Shiro and the rest of the kids he managed to round up and save from the bombardment. Clara was in the center. All those kids were counting on him. Lance hadn't made it back yet. He shook his head, out of breath.

_ It's a flashback. This isn't right. Get a grip. _

Clara was an adult. The war was over. He was in Cuba with his son, Shiro. Saul was at Aunt Emily's.

" _ Mami _ ." His son was right in front of him, putting himself between Keith and the alpha. He was trembling despite the heat and humidity. Keith reached out for him, pulling Shiro into his arms. The stranger could've held his son hostage, seconds away from slashing his throat with an unseen blade. He had seen that scenario before.

"I won't let them hurt you." Keith swore to Clara/Shiro and the crowd of civilians around him.  _ No, stop, no, that wasn't right. _ His brain was mixed up and he really couldn't afford sinking further into an episode. His son needed him.

_ Get a grip! _

Shiro's persistent scent anchored Keith enough for him to realize that the background noise he heard was actually words, although shaky and barely intelligible, "Mami, no one is hurting me. Please don't do anything." Shiro begged in a tremulous rush, "Please, just be okay." He threw his arms around Keith, hugging him tightly.

Keith did not want to feel restricted, it made things worse. He took a step back, gently shifting his grip from Shiro's shoulders to his wrists. He swallowed. He had to keep in control for his son's sake. Comfort him with the sense of normalcy.

"I'm fine." He tried for a gently chiding look, "You're in trouble."

Shiro frowned up at him, "You are not okay!" he insisted, anxiously wiping a tear off his cheek, "Your scent is  _ wrong _ ."

Keith looped his arms around Shiro's shoulders and leaned in so their foreheads touched. He mustered all the calm and confidence within his own psyche so he could properly lie to his son, "I'm fine."

Shiro kept frowning meaning Keith wasn't entirely convincing but he personally felt better anyway.

"Your eyes were Galra yellow."

"They're not now."

Shiro didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" Keith asked.

"I'm scared," Shiro wiped another stray tear away, sniffling. "I don't know what is happening right now."

Keith nodded. "Okay. I think that we both went too far here. What do you think?"

After a pause Shiro nodded, ears turning bright red.

"What did you have planned for today?"

His son swallowed audibly. "I had a youth meeting I was going to in Havana." he mumbled.

"I'll take you there."

"Huh?!"

"You're not off the hook," Keith clarified, "But I'm timing us out. We need a reset before we sit down and talk."

He studied his son for a reaction who studied him right back. Shiro took a deep breath and nodded once, looking away. They hugged (Keith forced himself to bear it) for long enough that they lost most of the audience they had acquired.

A few of the pedestrians clapped which felt so out of place that Keith's unease increased tenfold. He took a deep breath and led his son towards the car. The creepy crawlies were still there at the edge of his consciousness driven by the curious stares of remaining strangers. He felt relieved when they made it to the car with no further incidents. 

The short trip to Havana was all subdued silence. Shiro's pheromone scent was slightly sour. He was worried and Keith really wanted to assuage that but he didn't trust himself at the moment. On arrival, his son got out of the car and lingered there, looking at Keith.

"You could come listen..." Shiro shifted from foot to foot.

Keith smiled, "I might."

His son nodded and backed up. There were some other attendees there that noticed Shiro and were calling his name. More proof that his son was popular. Shiro turned and waved, looking back at Keith several times before disappearing up a hill past signs for the park amphitheater.

Keith turned away before the vanishing act made him think of another time. He focused on the mechanics of driving until the travel networks indicated he reached a less populated area. Noting several signs for a national park, Keith calmly took the ramp and glided down the smart guides to one of the entrances. He headed for the more primitive areas where either land vehicles or terrain-capable jet cars could navigate without smart assistance. He landed on a rough patch where most cars, even off-road land vehicles could not reach without some trouble. 

Keith depressurized the cabin and opened all the windows. The sun and humidity seeped in. Nature always brought him peace. It was what it was; beautiful with no confusing motives to speak of. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) I'll post one chapter a day during the week and double up/ finish up next weekend (I'm slow on the editing.)


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith chats with his daughter, Clara.

Keith pinged his daughter, hoping he caught a beacon cycle that would reach her.

_ Buffering, please wait. _ The prompt signified that the transmission was answered. He smiled to himself.

Clara materialized; she had large goggles sitting on her head, her hair tied back in a simple bun. 

"Hi, ma." she said, eyes fixed on the code screen in front of her. She appeared to be on the bridge of a grounded spaceship. Maybe Olkarion-Puig in nature.

"Hey." 

He watched her work until her fingers slowed to a stop. She glanced at him, eyebrow raised. Clara shut down her panel and leaned back on her chair, her focus now on Keith. 

"I love you." Keith said.

She stared as if waiting for more then her eyes narrowed as she said, "...I love you, too?"

He nodded.

"Ma. What the hell? Are you dying?"

"No."

His answer was followed by prolonged silence.

"Where's papi?" Clara asked, flatly, "Should I head to Earth? I can do that."

Keith shook his head. "No." he replied and huffed. His thoughts were on his son. He opened his mouth a few times,"I- do you think- was I..." He huffed again and at last said, "Was I a terrible mom? Was I impossible to live with?"

Clara raised an eyebrow. She seemed to relax, "Did you find my high school diary or something?"

"You had a diary?"

"Maybe. What's going on?"

He shelved that tidbit for later and recrossed his arms, staring at his daughter. 

"Shiro."

She rolled her eyes and relaxed all the way, throwing her feet up. "Shiro is ALWAYS going on. You're gonna have to be more specific." She scrounged in her pocket and pulled out a lollipop that she promptly shoved in her mouth.

Keith's eyes narrowed, happy to focus on something trivial, "Is there any nutritional value to that? You're always sucking on one of those."

Clara grinned, "None whatsoever. I have a whole carton of them I'm working through."

He frowned. The sheer amount of cavities... 

She ignored his reaction in favor of asking, "So what's up with Shiro?"

Keith could feel that his own frown was dangerously close to a pout as he recalled, "He thinks I'm a tyrant."

Clara shrugged, "Ma, is that news to you? You're a grumpy overbearing bear."

"I try to be..." he was looking for the right word, "Reasonable."

Clara's eyes narrowed, whether at Keith or her lollipop's flavor, he didn't know.

"Reasonable?! Bahaha," she said in amusement, though her gaze turned thoughtful, "Remember that time you grounded me when I was trying to go to a junker race..." a subtle smile graced her lips, "so I made a pillow likeness of myself and left it on my bed..." The smile broadened to a grin, "and snuck out for a joy ride..."

Keith stared. Of course, he remembered. The memory still annoyed him, it was so stupid.

"And you tracked me down and literally landed on the hood of the junker, like a crazy comic book villain, scaring all my friends..." Her eyes were tearing up with the giggles she'd caught, "and you brought the body pillow along...and the first thing you said was, 'It doesn't even look like you!'"

Maybe it was a little funny. Keith watched Clara wipe at her laugh tears. "You dragged my ass and all of my friends' asses home! Remember what else you did?"

Keith shrugged. "Not really." He never dwelled on his rage-induced actions.

"I had a relay practice that week so on meet day you buckled in the pillow, front passenger - made me sit in the back - and took us all the way to the meet - "

That jogged his memory. Keith was cracking a smile at this point and joined the storytelling, "I made you drop off your cycler with the pillow in its pilot seat." 

"AND we went all the way home then all the way back to pick the cycler and the pillow up from practice," she dropped back in her chair, laughing, barely able to get through describing what else had her so tickled,"You - You asked the pillow how practice went! I was so mad!"

Keith huffed, still smiling. He and Lance called the pillow 'Clara' and their daughter "not-Clara' for a few weeks. 

"That was all reasonable. You deserved it."

She nodded and took a minute to get her giggles under control. "Okay, maybe that wasn't so unreasonable. I'm sorry for the shit I pulled, ma. I kind of put you through a lot."

Keith felt a little better. Actually a lot better. His daughter didn't seem particularly traumatized. Maybe he still had a chance with Shiro? 

"I think I'm putting Shiro through it. He's much more sensitive than you. Apparently, I've been stressing him out without meaning to."

"Ehhhh," She dismissed, "He's tougher then he seems... he just has to cry through things first. You're a hardass, mami, but you were usually fair and you were always loving on us, Shiro will be fine. What did he do anyway?"

He was so grateful to hear that. Keith gave his daughter a lopsided smile. "Broke curfew." He said and would leave it at that. The last thing he needed was to listen to Clara's mouth over her omega brother and sex. Or freak her out over the pier situation. "He called me a terrorist regime and hung up on me."

She started choking on her lollipop. "Wow! Ha! I'm impressed. Go, Shiro."

She grinned at his glare. "Anyway, Shiro's a drama queen but he'll be fine. It's not easy being you and papi's kid even if you weren't a hardass. He'll figure it out."

Keith frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

"C'mon, ma." Clara waved her lollipop around and hopped out of her chair. The transmission display followed her to the ship's navigation charting system. She entered Earth coordinates, striking the generated Earth globe when it materialized causing it to spin wildly in place, "Earth's still bitching and moaning about all the non-human aliens that keep showing up - most humans still don't know Volton's deeds from their own ass but thats humanity and humanity is like the exception." 

She zoomed out then entered coordinates to the quadrants most affected by the Zarkon wars. She entered parameters to highlight impacted universes. Nearly all of the galaxies she had on display lit up in red highlights, "We gotta live under you and papi's giant ass shadow that looms literally across the known friggen universe." She gestured at the map pointedly, "You guys are probably in all of the interplanetary history banks that Shiro accesses for his non-terran studies."

Keith's frown deepened. He hadn't thought of that. Shiro was much more bookish than Clara ever was. While she had lived through the war and that world was an ingrained reality she didn't dwell on, her brother was fascinated by the details he read about. Shiro would've caught the significance of the Alliance's struggles and his parents' role within. And because he had Lance's nature of worrying about others and his own place in the world, he would be anxious to not disappoint, given his parents' deeds.  _ Why _ hadn't Keith thought of that. 

"Huh," said Keith. "Thanks, baby."

She ended the program and grinned, "Yeah sure, anytime. Happy to point out how you suck!"

He smiled in amusement, happy to see his daughter care-free and content even if it's at his expense. 

"Okay. I gotta go and resume my reign of terror. Love you."

"Love you too. By the way, Rosa's gonna swing by this week to pick up one of my tool sets. Give her a hug for me."

"Who?"

She scowled, "My girlfriend? The one I've been dating for the last four months? I've brought her over for dinner a few times!"

"Oh, right. Rosa." He hoped he looked like he knew who the hell she was talking about. Clara often showed up on Earth with a significant other(s) that didn't stay significant for long. If she remained on Earth for a few months then she would date someone local but that usually fizzled out by the time she was heading out again. 

"We're in a serious relationship!"

"Okay. You're back soon then?"

She eyed him, suspicious over how serious he was about her serious relationship but didn't dive into it. She answered, "I'll be there for a few quintants some time in the next two movements. I'll ping you when I know for sure." She seemed distracted by something going on off screen, 'About time!" She squealed and ran. 

He watched his daughter bear-hug a mudrat component, peeling it out of her bemused colleague's arms and dropping down on the floor of the ship's bridge to marvel at her newly acquired tech. 

Echoes of a seven year old girl playing by her lonesome in the castleship, deconstructing a steering module in view of Keith and Lance while the team plotted out their next battle strategy cemented itself in his thoughts.

Keith took a deep breath, "I'm sorry, Clara. For how things were before Earth. Before Spring Eternal."

She stilled, miraculously ignoring her tech and looked up at Keith, frowning, "Mami, I'm totally fine. There was a war on..." She sucked in a breath, "Are you sure you're okay?"

He shook his head, not wanting her to worry. "I'm fine. You made me think about things that's all."

"Thinking, huh? Yuck."

He snorted, "You would say that."

She half smiled but was still watching as if assessing him so Keith smirked.

"Stay safe out there."

Clara nodded and hesitated as if she planned to say more, but simply said, "I love you, ma."

"I love me, too." He winked and cut the transmission.


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith talks briefly with Saul, then becomes an audience member at Shiro's rally and stirs things up.

Keith headed for Havana, ready for a proper talk with Shiro. His son had a lot of explaining to do. The pier situation, with Shiro threatening to jump, was a tough one to splice; Keith thought it was a spur of the moment reaction but he didn't know for sure and now that Shiro had opened that door, did it mean he would be easily tempted by such extremes? Keith shoved the concern away and focused. First, he needed to catch up with his youngest; he had promised to ping him. During the drive, he pinged Saul who picked up immediately.

"Hi mami!" he shouted, above squeals of laughter and varying rounds of, "Hi, Uncle Keith!" 

Keith glanced at the screen just as the regional travel network detected his projected call and warned him to take the auto assist lane. He did as requested so he could focus on his son (and not get a ticket). The call displayed a blur of movement before focusing on Saul and a bunch of his 'cousins', close together, peering down at the screen. They weren't all actually related; there were a few more kids in the background, playing with picked flowers. They appeared to be weaving wildflowers together in Aunt Emily's mudroom. Some of them were in swimsuits; all had damp hair in various stages of drying including Saul whose hair went down past his shoulders when not teased into a big poof.

Keith smiled, "Hi, kids. What have you been up to?"

Saul was trying to extricate himself from his relatives, sharing a smile or giggling as he wiggled free of hands and odd limbs. He took his communicator back from an enterprising little girl who had grabbed it and launched into a story about the differences in lakeside soil sediments.

"You have to ask permission before you take things that aren't yours," he chided his little cousin (cousin-once-removed, actually, if Keith had recognized her correctly) then smiled at his mom, "Aunt Emily, Aunt Luisa and Aunt Marcia took us to the lake. They're making lunch."

Saul scurried out of the mudroom; looking past the screen just as Keith heard Aunt Luisa in the background, "Hey imp! [Where do you think you're going? Who are you talking to?']"

"Mami!" he waved his comm, causing the view to shake. "[I was going to the guest bedroom. May I, please?]"

"Hi Keith! How're you doing?!" said Lance's sister, grinning at Keith.

He waved and mustered up the cheer to smile broadly. Lance's family was always so exuberantly cheerful. How awful.  _ Fake it til you make it, _ said his inner Lance. "Hey!"

"I'm back at the barnhouse. Silvio and the grandkids are with me. Stop by for un cafecito! Will next Friday afternoon work?"

"Yeah, sounds great!" He lied. Ugh, unsolicited coffee-laden socializing. It meant an evening of sipping concentrated espresso bombs from tiny cups and listening to gossip and then debating the merits of making another poison pot because three heart-attacks worth of caffeine was not enough. Cuban coffee was already strong; Keith's sister-in-law enjoyed threatening the family with her 'special concoction' version. Keith would rather drink raw sewage, but that wouldn't stop his sister-in-law from badgering him for his entire visit so he always choked the stuff down. 

"Come here, you darling saffron flower! Que lindo!"

_ So cute!  _

Keith had to keep a straight face at his son's version of 'ugh' which was a stifled wince and paltry smile. Saul left the comm on a flat surface unprojected, so Keith could only see his sister-in-law's ceiling but he heard, "My sweet nephew! [So talented! You have the voice of an angel! Aren't you the cutest?" That was followed by loud smooches and then, "I could tear you into teeny tiny pieces and eat all the perfect little gumdrops,  _ ahh _ , I'm gonna squeeze you until you pop!" She nearly howled, "You are the sweetest thing!!!"

No wonder his son was trying to escape. A minute later the comm was picked up again and he could see a sudden scramble and a skewed door being locked shut. Saul reappeared, looking like a hunted child as he whispered, "Could I go home now, please?"

Keith shook his head, "Not yet, baby. No one is at the house. As soon as possible, I promise. How long has Aunt Luisa been there?"

She was a lot to tolerate. His son sighed, depressed, "Since this morning."

"Did you want her to hug you?"

Saul bit his lip, smiling sheepishly.

"Saul."

He shook his head by the slightest of margins.

"Huh. What would Clara do if Aunt Luisa tried to hug her like that?"

"Uh no. Don't touch me." Saul deadpanned, gaze bored and direct just like his sister. 

Keith cracked up, delighted by the unexpected impression. "What about Shiro?"

"I love you auntie!" Saul said, expression adoring and then suddenly changed track, "Or," he pouted and crossed his arms, "This is a hug-free zone right now. Did you know hugs were invented by primates?! Why don't primates play guitar? Non-human primates I mean. Not all humans play guitar but there are zero non-human primates playing guitar! I won't stand for it!"

Keith was weak. "What about papi?" He managed to ask between his guffaws, "If he didn't want a hug."

Saul raised his eyebrows and said, "Waaack."

Keith choked, he wiped the laugh tears from the corner of his eyes and asked, "And me?"

His son hunkered down and glared as if he had killed five people and intended to kill five more. " _ No _ ."

"Accurate." Keith laughed, "Okay, now what would Saul do if he were being honest and not trying to be nice?"

Saul thought about it for a moment then said, "He would say 'no, thank you.'"

Keith nodded, "That sounds like Saul. The next time Aunt Luisa or anyone at all tries to touch you when you don't want to be touched, what will you say?"

His youngest smiled, "No, thank you."

"Good." said Keith as he maneuvered the jetcar towards a parking lot. He met his son's gaze again. Saul had the same streak as the rest of them and typically said things as he saw them though sometimes his bashfulness got the best of him especially when it came to relatives. "I got your back on this, baby. Stand up for yourself, even with family."

Saul nodded, looking genuinely relieved and happy.

"I'll be back for you today, okay?"

"Okay," he took half a breath,"Shiro didn't mean it."

Keith raised an eyebrow.

"Shiro didn't mean to make trouble," Saul insisted, "He was hurting inside."

Keith wasn't sure what exactly his youngest knew but he wasn't surprised at his comment. Those two protected each other to a fault. Good luck to anyone that hurt Saul's feelings. They would get to know Shiro (and Camilo who basically adopted Saul, too).

"I'll keep that in mind. Love you, Saul."

"Love you!" He said, reaching for his guitar, "Bye!"

Keith would speak to Aunt Emily later, in the meantime, his son would survive an overly adoring aunt. Keith parked his car and left it behind, taking a less trodden path way to the Havana University grounds where the park amphitheater was located. It was a big place and from the distant cheers and rounds of applause, the youth event in the theater was well attended. Definitely not a spot Keith was anxious to visit. His oldest son enjoyed big venues way too much for Keith's tastes. 

He took a bracing breath and followed the path up the hill until he reached the back of the theater which was on the other side of the summit, built into the valley below. Lots of college kids and noisy teenagers. Way too many laughing, unpredictable teenagers. Yet, Shiro was not hard to find. His son was smack in the center of it all; seated on stage among the youth panelist, awaiting his turn to speak. He was slowly scanning the arena from end to end, smiling at his friends but not lingering on them. 

Was he looking for Keith? Then again he might be looking for Camilo, but hopefully, spotting mom at this event might be nice for Shiro. Keith navigated past the lawn area and through a row of tiered seating until he reached an emptied aisle-way where he should stand out, all the white concrete against his black clothes. He held still and waited.

He smiled at Shiro's reaction the moment he spotted him; his son froze and appeared to perk up like he'd been given a sudden morale boost. Keith waved, pleased to remain that relevant to his kid. He turned his attention to the current speaker who was discussing ways for teens to organize in their communities. The speaker looked back at the panel several times as she spoke. Keith wasn't sure but it seemed that she was especially focused on his son. He was proven correct shortly thereafter; the young lady launched into an introduction for rising star, grassroots activist; omega-extraordinaire, Shiro. The audience burst into roaring celebratory whistles and cheers. Keith's eyebrows went up as Shiro popped out of his chair, easy as can be, and took the podium. 

His son gave the crowd a big mischievous grin, patiently awaiting for the noise to settle. He waited long enough for the calm to grow into baited suspense then eased into the retelling of life experiences that changed the life of a famed omega rights activist. The story began to build the case for omega rights. 

His son had no tablet or access panel; engaging narrative and rousing exposition flowed naturally. Keith kept getting caught by surprise whenever he watched Shiro take center stage in some way. At school, he often got the lead role in plays and participated in school debates and pretty much anything that kept many eyes on him. Keith smiled to himself, immensely proud of his child.

Shiro transitioned to raising excellent points over the cruelty of omega suppression. His overabundance of energy was channeled to singular focus as he detailed the many accepted notions in society that were actually destructive to their shared dynamic. He asked rhetorical questions, making the audience think. 

Keith suppressed the urge to smack the few kids not paying attention to this glorious speech. Yes, his son was obviously better than anyone else's kid, listen to him! The fawning cheers didn't ring as fully appropriate, however. Shiro was essentially speaking to the choir and ideas in an echo chamber were too easy. His son needed a challenge and Keith was compelled to do his thing. 

He watched one of the amphitheater volunteers setting up a permissioned audience query stand several steps down the aisle-way. Keith wandered close enough to catch the pin entry and waited until the volunteer left for the next stand, several aisles over before he casually approached and commandeered the microphone. The stand's panel indicated admin access - the pin was administrative level - fantastic. Keith locked remote access to the microphone and switched it on. The word 'live' and a microphone symbol materialized above Keith. 

"Ahem," he interrupted his son, mid-sentence who looked in his direction, surprised, "Yeah, very nice." Keith dismissed, "You're forgetting that the loudest voice with the broadest reach gets to tell the story. You are one voice going against norms that have let us function just fine for a very long time. Why should anyone listen to you and your naive ideals?"

People boo around Keith as he braced for his son. He saw a very stubborn glint in his eye. Shiro never backed down from a debate particularly if it involved society's ails. Keith wasn't a big talker but he was quick witted and had a lifetime of forced politicking to lob at his son. He would give Shiro a run for the money. The verbal sparring began.

Shiro frowned at his mom, gesturing for the audience to hush down. "It's not naive to re-imagine society for the better. Having no dreams is like surrendering and we haven't even started yet! We are here to conquer cynicism. We have hope!"

Keith snorted, "Hope doesn't change facts. People don't change."

"Together-"

Keith interrupted, "Together? Is that what you're relying on? Going against the grain is hard. Bravery is hard. When it counts, the 'together' coalition will fall apart. Besides there's plenty of omegas that are just fine with the way things are and here you are stirring trouble. Your Omega emancipation ridicules their lives. Do you know how that feels?"

" _ Together- _ "

"What if your ideals alienate your friends because the things you say go too far for their tastes? "

Shiro shook his head,"Wh-"

"What if you're not given a chance to speak and Family First shouts down your missives?" Keith thundered, above the hostile audience. "They tell your fellow omegas that the resentment they feel is justified," Keith pointed at his son, "Thinking different and being different can be a lonely place."

Shiro stuck his chin up and declared, "I am already different. I'm part Galra. Yeah,  _ that _ Galra," he clarified to the crowd. 

It had been close to a decade since the widespread discovery of non-terran aliens. The Olkarians and Balmerans came first. The tales of evil empire and fracture of the Galra and therefore the universe shortly followed. Only a few Galra have arrived in the Solar system and they mostly stuck to the colonies and not Earth proper. Terrans still didn't really care about Voltron other than to brag on forums that humans saved the universe.

"I'm also all omega," his son continued, "I've had heats since I was little. Everyone is different in some way but we share something in common. We all know what it's like to be cat-called and insulted if we don't respond the 'right' way. We all worry about a certain kind of alpha at school or have to deal with reputation if we dare to *want* to share our heats - much less regular sex! We are so over other people's claims on our bodies! It's  _ our _ omega bodies! No one else's!" 

He could barely be heard above the whoops, clapping and cheers, "Society chains us down but together with our allies we can loosen those chains and take back our narratives!"

There were so many faces looking at Keith, grinning in victory. Some were loudly taunting him. Keith held back his amusement (and minor discomfort, this was ultimately an agitated crowd and bad things can quickly escalate in such a setting). He waited patiently for an opportunity to parry.

"You keep saying 'we'. Us." He drawled, channeling his inner Lotor, "Will the people here still welcome you as a voice for omegas if the Galra came wholesale to Earth and attacked? If everyone has a mami or papi or abuelita or cousin or mentor that was killed by the Galra?" 

He noticed a distinct change to the mood in the amphitheater, a notable bristling of discomfort. 

"Do you feel that?" he gestured towards the audience that quieted. He could scent the rise of stress hormones. "That is what you're up against. There will always be an us versus them," Keith continued somberly, "What if the Galra come in peace or refugees come for a better life? Will the people here welcome them if resources are scarce? Will they advocate for Galra taking a spot in an elite Earth school when their own Terran family member would lose out?"

"You-

Keith spoke louder, right over his son, "Earth provided the resources after all," Shiro's nostrils flared and he stomped across the stage as Keith rationalized, "isn't it only right for Terrans to have first dibs? Wha-"

Shiro disconnected Keith's microphone app and pointed an accusing finger at him, "Straw man arguments!! You're trying to deflect away from omega suffrage by preying on the worst of our tribal natures and existential fears! Well guess what, hope and understanding conquers fear!  _ We _ are better than what you assume of us! This isn't about the Galra, this is about omega rights! We will overcome our differences whatever they may be - I'll find a way to be heard!" he gestured pointedly at the access panel where he apparently had more permissioning access than Keith. The crowd roared as Shiro shouted, "I'll find common ground with my fellow omegas! We will not be distracted! "

Keith wanted to keep glaring but he had never been more intensely proud of his son. His heart was about to beat out of his chest from sheer pride and exhilaration. He couldn't even frown anymore. He pulled out his comm and gestured for Shiro to do the same. It looked like the message came across because the next second, Shiro was digging his comm out of his pocket (and removed the call forwarding). He answered Keith's call request.

"It's a lifelong battle, Shiro. Wield your weapon of choice, shrewdly. Hone your eyes and ears so that you know your enemy and cut them down before they have a chance." Keith said fiercely to his son who looked confused.

"Mami, I don't have a weapon. I'm no good at swords or guns or whatever." Shiro said, his voice still echoing through the stage speakers and amphitheater. Shiro hunched in his shoulders, looking a touch vulnerable at admitting that.

Keith smirked when he heard someone nearby call out, "He's on a call with his mom?!" and someone else, "Is that his mom??" 

Keith made his way towards the stage, hearing jeers around him and smirking even more sharply, hoping that his son who suddenly looked worried, understood that the jeers didn't matter to him. Only Shiro mattered to Keith. He stopped right in front of the stage and eyed his son. "Swords are my thing," Keith nodded, quick and sharp at the crowd behind him, "This is your thing."

Shiro looked around like he just realized he was on stage then stared at Keith, startled.

"I'm so proud of you." Keith said over the rambunctious cries of the crowd, "You're still in trouble."

Shiro gave him a long, long look. His eyes welled with tears and he turned on his heels and walked off stage. 


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and his son have a chat.

_Miss you, Kitten. What're you up to?_

Keith texted back-

_Playing hide and seek with Shiro._

_Need back up?_

_No. Don't worry._

_K, are you coming back?_

_Think so. Chat later._

_K._

Where would his son go? Shiro typically punched something or climbed something when upset. Keith's eyes landed on the park's facilities building which had an exterior staircase open to the public. There happened to be an old water tower perched on the gated roof. Keith looked up. He could see his son's legs crossed at the ankle, up high. Of course. Keith took the stairs two at a time and reached the moss covered eco-roof.

"I meant everything I said on stage." said Shiro, looking out at a distance, arms hanging off the bottom rung of the tower railing.

Keith nodded. He hopped up on the tower platform and sat next to his son.

"But all I keep thinking about is Camilo. I shouldn't have done any of the stuff I did today. I'm just using the movement as a coping mechanism." 

"Purity tests are overrated, bunny," Keith said, using Lance's term of endearment which Shiro constantly rebuffed, "The reasons for the movement doesn't have to be your number one priority for it to count."

"Never call me bunny," Shiro moaned, scrubbing his eyes with his arm, "You know I hate carrots."

Keith smiled,"Sorry."

His son balled his hands into fists and pressed them to his chest, over his heart. "It hurts," he sniffled, "I feel like a really big and important part of me is missing."

Keith reached out and patted the back of his son's neck, saying nothing.

"Camilo is supposed to always be there for me," Shiro said weakly, "It's always been me and Camilo no matter what. No one else is like that."

Keith's heart ached to hear his son's anguish. It was tough to watch Shiro reckon with his own feelings without being able to protect him from them. Not that Keith would do that; Shiro had to face the consequences of his own actions. Still, his child sounded so lost.

"Life happens, baby."

"You and papi are always saying that."

Keith's response was to smile ruefully. He gently highlighted his son's self-absorption, "Are you always there for Camilo?"

Shiro looked down, ears turning red, and scrubbed his nose. He shook his head, 'No'.

Keith felt heartened by the acridness of his son's scent which meant he was stressed, likely from regret or remorse. It was reassuring when his kids' own morals were evident.

"Did you want to date Camilo?"

Shiro hesitated then shook his head 'no' again, though less certain about it.

"But you don't want Camilo to be with anyone else?"

Shiro groaned, "I know it's stupid. I'm sleeping around so I could throw it back in his face," he confessed, mouth trembling.

Keith didn't say anything and observed his son, soft smile still in place. The meanness of Shiro's behavior was obvious. Shiro brushed away another tear with the back of his hand and glanced at Keith. "What do you think of your son now?" He whispered, voice clogged.

"Which one?"

He huffed, "Mami."

"I don't know." Keith shrugged, offering his son a bit of a break, "Maybe it's in the genes, all the horniness and poor decisions when emotionally constipated."

Shiro was so distraught that it took a moment for Keith's words to sink in. When it hit, his nose wrinkled and he reeled back sharply, eyebrows furrowing. 

"Mami, first of all ew," he seemed to mull it over for a second and then said more firmly, "Definitely ew! You're _always_ emotionally constipated! You didn't have to correlate that to horniness and poor decisions! Now, I have to live with that knowledge. No one on this planet wants that knowledge, especially not me!" 

His stream of consciousness picked up steam. Shiro rambled, "Except maybe your sex therapist if you have one and you probably do if you're that horny. Hypersexuality is a thing," his eyes narrowed, "but what if papi is hypersexual too; is it a problem if it's not a problem to the problematic parties involved? Could there really be a genetic component to this?" he contemplated before dry heaving.

"You and papi, naked," he continued in dismay. 

"Doing it. Missionary," he added to his own scenario. 

Shiro paled at his own realization, horrified as he said," _Not_ missionary! You and papi and your love stink are always... " 

He wiggled his fingers ominously.

Keith wondered whether his son's mind could actually explode. He tested the theory by asking, "Remember when your ex-girlfriend introduced herself to me by yelling, 'MILF'?"

Shiro's eyes grew round, "She blurted _milk_ , I told you she has a passion for dairy! She wanted you to know that."

"Did you forget that I was actually there and that my ears work fine?" Keith asked, dryly. "She said MILF."

"No she didn't because that is not a word." Shiro claimed, starting to sweat.

"It's an acronym," Keith smiled, "And I know what it means." 

He let that sit on his wide-eyed son for a beat. "It's an old acronym, Shiro, c'mon." Granted Keith was oblivious as a student and later as a cadet, and only learned it from Lance's sister many years ago, but that counted. He teased, "I think your friend would be interested in that new knowledge you have."

Instead of further freaking out the way Clara would have, Shiro relented, waving his hand dismissively and revealing, "And that's why I dumped her. She was into my mom. Gross."

"What?" Keith said, surprised, and started to laugh. He looked out at the park view that the tower afforded him, feeling a thrill at this glimpse of his future relationship with his son. Such an open and easy dialogue that was much different in flavor than the mocking banter he had with his grown up alpha daughter. For now, he still had to mostly stay in parent-mode with Shiro but he was looking forward to the days when his kid was fully grown and they could be more like friends.

His son seemed to have something else in mind. Frowning, he asked, "Does a knot feel good to you, I hate it? Even in heat. My omega friends say they crave it during heat but I don't. Am I a freak of nature?"

Keith shrugged and tried to stifle his (hypocritical) discomfort with reality proving once again that he spawned a horndog much like himself. 

"Everyone is different," Keith relented,"You can favor the pheromones and physicalities of betas or omegas more. It's all normal. Your friends are probably trying to out omega each other."

Shiro snorted, echoing, "Out omega each other." 

Keith smiled, eyes still on the lush campus landscape. The view transposed over another view from up high on an alien structure - a different planet where he was crouched by Lance who was laid out in sniper position. Keith breathed and took his son's hand as calmly as he could. He wouldn't be holding his son's hand or anyone's hand if he was truly back there in the past with Lance. He held still and waited until the hazy magenta skies faded back into memory.

He sensed his son's eyes on him and wondered what his scent was telling him. His own senses were telling him that Shiro was anxious and growing more anxious by the minute. Keith quickly ran through their conversation in his head, realizing that he hadn't answered Shiro's initial question and that he needed to get his thoughts off his chest. It should be enough of a distraction to keep his son from asking any awkward questions. 

"I can't say I'm happy that you hacked our security measures so you can bring people home to screw so you can hurt your best friend."

Shiro winced, blushing. 

"I think you should make things right with Camilo. He deserves that. But that is up to you. I wish you had picked up your boxing gloves instead of having revenge sex to cope with what you're feeling."

His son sighed and looked away. "Mami," he said, miserably.

"Atone for what you did and move on, baby. We've all done things that we're ashamed of. It just makes you human and it doesn't have to define you...at least not forever," He learned that the hard way.

"You're so much pressure." Shiro was frowning again, "You're just non-stop." Keith froze not expecting that response.

"Shiro..." He said, puzzled, "I'm just trying to help you."

Shiro simply went quiet, looking ahead at the landscape, as if resigned to his fate.

"Maybe I don't say it enough," Keith said, tentatively, "but, I'm very proud of you."

That seemed to help, Shiro met his eyes, gaze softening.

"I don't expect you to be perfect. I know I'm not perfect," he teased, "My son wouldn't call me a dictator if I was perfect."

Shiro smiled back although a little sadly.

"In the interest of reform, how do you think I should handle my wayward son's attempts at defecting from my reign of terror?"

Shiro sighed and asked, gloomily, "What are the charges?"

Keith responded cheerfully, "Multiple counts of lying. Doctoring evidence. Risky sexual behavior. Self-negligence, general rule breaking and disobedience..."

More seriously, he added, "and suicide attempt."

"It wasn't suicide attempt; it would've been serious injury at best, but I wasn't actually going to jump..." Shiro mumbled then shoved his face into his hands, "I was actually going to jump. That was such a stupid thing to do," he bemoaned, "Oh my god. I'm never doing that again, what was I thinking!"

"What is your verdict?" Keith asked lightly.

His son sighed, depressed as he suggested, "Beheading."

"I was thinking something a little less permanent."

Shiro looked up awaiting his sentence, which Keith delivered.

"No outings except for school and back. No allowance and no social media. We're gatekeeping any incoming or outgoing communications contacting your biosignature."

Shiro's eyes nearly bulged out of his head at the last bit, "What does that mean?!"

Usually, Keith simply blocked communication, but he was concerned about his son's unexpected behavior so he decided that a more invasive approach was appropriate. 

"It means that all of your transmissions will be routing to your dad and I first. Social media alerts, calls, texts. Everything."

"Mami." Shiro replied faintly, then his voice reached high-pitched squeaky proportions when he babbled, "Mami, you can't do that. When does that start? Oh my god. You can't route it to papi, can you just route it to you? No, not that either. Oh my god. Oh god. Oh no. I need to run away and join a touring theater troupe in Mars' Ruby Territory. The troupe must specialize in neo-golden era twenty-first century plays. Hudes' works are my favorite. I should start auditioning once I make my escape!"

Keith's eyes narrowed as he watched his son sweat. He had not added Lance to the gatekeeping just yet. Most kids had figured out a way to cloak their biosignature activities from nanny surveillance and/or cyber security systems, however, most kids did not have to contend with beefed up, terran-alien, military-grade technology that combated years of sustained attacks by one very determined, engineering obsessed, part-Galra alpha girl. The tech was machine-trained to combat cybersecurity assaults from the worst of assailants: cyber crime syndicates and sneaky teenagers. In other words, Clara had ruined it for Shiro.

Keith pulled out his communicator and realized he already had over one thousand rerouted alerts to check. For fuck's sake. Really! He just set it up an hour ago! He scrolled at random and opened a few.

"Five hundred pings from 'Yes Bitch, We Can' forum..." he frowned, "Sixty unread alerts from 'Best Meats for Heats'... 'Ping me back, skank!' from your Circle of Friends contact, Elisa..."

Mostly he felt annoyance as he scrolled. Keith saw a ping from another one of Shiro's friends' that he recognized from the few times she was over at the house. He read the subject line, out loud. "Thirsty for that hole..."

She should drink some goddamn water if she was so thirsty.

Keith had given this girl cookies! Or probably he ate cookies as he walked by and saw her hanging out with his son. Still, the fire was lit. His aggravation reached unprecedented levels when he expanded the notification and saw spread legs, spread labia, a pulsing knot, and a ridiculous alpha smirk. He saw red when the image animated - a hand appeared working the female knot into sizable phallus proportions. He turned to smite his son, but he had disappeared. He spotted Shiro a second later, where he had scrambled back and flattened himself against the wall of the water tower. 

Keith's body language was similar to a hissing goose when he asked,"Are you sending your girlfriend child porn, too?!" 

"She's not my girlfriend!" spluttered Shiro.

Keith could've thrown his communicator at his son's head in hopes that it would make his brain work better. 

Shiro added, taking great offense, "It's not child porn!"

"If you're sending each other pornographic images of your naked _underage_ selves, then you are sending each other child porn!" 

"Is it child porn if there are no adults involved and no adults to see it? Since _you_ saw it, the image has become child porn. So! The image's status is wholly dependent on the observer... similar to superimposed particles..." he paused for a brief second and wondered out loud, "Is this in any way related to quantum entanglements?" Shiro appeared to seriously ponder his own question before he gasped and waved his hands, frantically placating the angry mom scent and glare of death directed at him, "I'm not, mami, I swear! I think it's stupid to do that! That was a one way street! She's kind of a jerk and really dumb sometimes! She just wants to get in my pants!"

He paused again and then, because he was a lot like Lance when he was a teenager, Shiro blurted, "Cause I'm cute."

"Call her."

"What?"

"Call her. Right now." Keith demanded.

Dawning horror set across his son's face as he swallowed audibly. "Could I...opt...out...please?" He squeaked.

" _No_."

Slowly as if he thought he was experiencing a fever dream, Shiro picked up his comm and contacted his friend. It pinged Keith as expected, he allowed the call to go through.

The girl picked up before the first chime had completed, "Baby!"

"Um...hang up?" Shiro squeaked, even higher pitched.

Keith sat down next to his son, squarely in view of his friend.

"Why would-" Her eyes widened and she straightened, "Hi, Mr. Alvarez."

"Hi Arelis. I asked Shiro to call you. How are you?"

He watched her lay on a roguish Alpha smile and sugary charm as she said, "I am doing _very well_ , Mr. Alvarez..." She purred and swept her hair over one shoulder, shaking it out a little and fixing Keith with a sultry under lashes stare. "Thank you for asking."

She looked like she might wink at him. If that little girl winked at Keith he was going to reach through the comm and slap her face off. Such a confident, pleased little snot of an alpha, thinking she had a handle on grown-ups. Keith was happy to relieve her of that notion. He dropped all pretense of polite inquiry, scrutinizing her dispassionately.

"You're welcome." He said with complete lack of inflection. The one thing Keith excelled at was creating tension. He eyed her the way a certain kind of child would when burning ants under a magnifying glass; the type of child that had been taught that the act was cruel and did it anyway. She looked slightly less confident as he assessed her.

"Arelis," Keith said at last, "I don't care for your inappropriateness towards my son. Think twice before you send naked loops of yourself over the data streams."

Her face turned fire drill red. Remarkably, she dropped all pretenses, too, and was shockingly very much in the mean girl category since she snarled, "I bet you liked it, bitch!"

Shiro, who had looked mortified, whiplashed into an entirely different set of emotions, shoving Keith aside with surprising strength.

"IT'S MISTER BITCH TO YOU, BITCH. YOU DON'T CALL MAMI A BITCH, YOU KNOTLESS BITCH!" 

Not even Clara had ever worked Shiro up to that level of fury. He was only a quarter Galra yet for a split second he managed to shift skin color from his human caramel to Galra grey. He was either channeling his sister or tapping into that deep well of Galra berserker genes. 

"I WILL FIND YOU AND-"

Keith cut the connection and carefully schooled his expression to not hilarity.

"Shiro," he warned.

"AHHH." Shiro screamed to the winds, jumping up to punch the old water tower. _Boom_! He hit it so hard he left a fist-sized dent in it.

"Shiro."

His son tried to scoot under the tower railings to drop the short distance onto the roof, but Keith hauled him back by the cuff of his shirt. He scrambled right out of his shirt and tried to jump again but was thwarted. Multiple times. Keith was pleased to realize that his kids really took his 'how to fight a kidnapping attempt' lecture to heart since Shiro was making it impossible to hold him down. He flailed about like a fish on land or a toddler that refused to be picked up.

"Conejito."

Shiro froze, mid-flail, halfway off the platform.

"Don't call me bunny! Little or otherwise!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, misdirecting his anger. Shiro then cringed, "Sorry!"

His body was slowly sliding off the tower, unassisted. Keith hauled him fully back onto the platform and sat him up by grabbing his forearms and pulling him upright. He proceeded to stare until Shiro got bored (never took long.) 

"I wasn't done with your punishment."

Shiro focused at last, frowning unhappily.

"Put your shirt on or hold on to it."

Shiro blinked and looked down at himself surprised to see his rucked up undershirt. He tidied up. Keith waited until Shiro was back to slumped and pouting, then cleared his throat delicately and continued as if that last few action-packed minutes had not occurred. He wasn't going to touch that whole misadventure. At some point, he needed to sit down and punch himself in the face; his own temper always sparked a string of madness.

"Besides re-evaluating your friends this summer, I want you to write a detailed letter to your uncle Lotor describing why you would like to intern for him in the Alliance Senate during school break. " 

Shiro might be the only person alive to think that Lotor was the biggest yawn in existence. 

"Oh." His spirits seemed to deflate. 

Keith smiled. It was time for Shiro to experience first hand his uncle's world of political intrigue and diplomacy. He had a hunch it might be something Shiro would enjoy.

"What about Arelis?"

"I will get in contact with her parents."

"Oh." Shiro said, looking pleased. 

Keith shook his head and kissed his son's forehead. Another nutso day. Dealing with his kids was a trip. All of this Shiro drama stemming from some teenage angst. At least it was just one more child he had to try to guide through the teenhood gauntlet without traumatizing for life. 

"I love you," he said to his son.

"I love you, too."

"Let's go. It's been a long day."


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Keith have another conversation, a tougher one.

Saul frowned. He stood outside of the jetcar, arms crossed over the rolled down window, listening to Shiro who likely expressed what Saul had been feeling all along.

"I am _not_ staying with _her_!" Shiro blurted loudly from the front passenger seat. He clearly had not expected his mom to drop him off at his aunt's place. He turned around at Aunt Emily's offended snort. She was sitting on the steps of her porch within hearing range.

"No offense, auntie I love you! I really do!" He said, all charm then whipped around just as fast and pouted at Keith.

"She made dinner for you. You're going to eat every bite of her delicious food and then you're going to enjoy your aunt's company until I come pick you up, understood?"

"Aunt Emily only lives two doors down," Saul pleaded, quietly, "We can walk home after."

Keith smiled at the one offspring that had not made him lose several centuries of life. He imagined his sons nearly choking to death in their haste to polish off the food so they could go home. Typically, they were in and out of the house, running around with neighborhood kids and friends. Now, they were acting like not being home was the worst fate imaginable.

"Do you know why mogotes have steep sides?" Keith stiffened at hearing his kids' cousin-once-removed. He turned and spotted the little girl standing in front of the driver side window in the driveway, peering up, then not meeting his gaze. 

"Mogotes are made of limestone. Limestone is common across Cuba's terrain," said the little girl, solemnly. Keith opened the door and picked her up, settling the four-year-old on his lap.

"I had no idea!" He said, then turned his attention back on his sons, "No, baby, I want you to stay with Aunt Emily."

"The steep sides were caused by erosion," said Shiro, eyeing his cousin and taking her from Keith. The pout was back when he responded to his mom, "Why?! We want to go home!"

The little girl tapped Saul's arm and advised, "Seventy percent of Cuban soil contains limestone," she lisped,"The mogotes also contain dolomite. Limestone and dolomite are sedimentary rocks."

Saul opened the passenger side door and threw his arms around his cousin, giving her a big hug, "That is really cool!" He said before she smiled and hopped out of the car, heading for Aunt Emily. Saul wedged himself on the edge of Shiro's seat.

"Mami, should we fix you a plate?" he asked, relenting on being taken home.

Several kids from a town saved by the Black lion had run up to Keith's scout car and squeezed themselves into the passenger side seat. The little ones had begged him to stay while one of the older ones had asked if they could at least fix him a plate to go.They were sitting before him, now. He startled.

The memory vanished, replaced by Shiro and Saul staring back at him.

Shiro's eyes widened, he breathed out slowly and offered, "We don't have to fix you a plate if you don't want it...?"

"I appreciate that," Keith teased, smiling warmly even as he balled one trembling hand into a fist. Fortunately, he had that hand casually resting by his thigh, hidden from view. Keith definitely needed time alone to regroup and find his equilibrium.

He winked at his kids, "No plate, but thank you. Out of the car, please."

Both his sons frowned, but grudgingly slid out of the passenger seat and joined Aunt Emily and their little cousin on the porch.

* * *

At home, Keith worked out, again. He poured all of his focus into his strenuous strength and conditioning routine. The effort was obviously very good for his body, but it usually helped his head, too. All of his stress would draw back and take much less of a toll on him. This time, it was of no use. Keith was functioning fine, going through the motions of regular life, but he felt like his own head was betraying him. He shouldn't have forced that pier situation with Shiro and all of the flashbacks he had today were disturbing him. Keith should be in control of his own faculties, if nothing else. He pushed the unease aside and focused on his deadlifts.

An hour later, Keith made his way to the back patio and sat on a two-seater hanging egg chair. He sank into the cushions, idly listening to the sound of the chains creaking. He had already missed the seminars he had been looking forward to (sort of), but he could still catch the rest if he went back soon. It would mean hurting his youngest one's feelings; Saul wanted badly to come home. Keith weighed breaking his promise against potentially finding his balance if he stuck to his expected schedule. 

His comm buzzed.

_Could I please come by just for a little? Please?_

Keith rolled his eyes, smiling. Shiro. Of course. He was probably seeking to reassure himself that everything was okay between them. 

Keith texted back, _Bring your brother._

_Is it okay if it's just me? I told Saul I needed to talk to you about grown up stuff._

_We have a whole house, Shiro. We can talk privately with Saul here._

_Yeah, but I already gave him my allowance credits. Please??_

Keith smirked; knowing Saul, he probably suggested the bribe himself, hoping to earn some additional credits, but also banking on Keith forcing Shiro to bring him home anyway. His youngest was sneaky like that. And speaking of, Keith laughed at the next text he received. Not surprisingly, it was from Saul.

_Mami, could I pretty please come home now??_

_Only if you return Shiro's credits,_ Keith answered in text.

Saul had been diligently saving for a new electric guitar and would not appreciate any setbacks.

_I can wait a bit longer, actually. :)_

Keith grinned as he sent Saul a wagging lecturing finger loop and then texted his older son - _Okay baby. Come by yourself._

Not long after, he heard the metal gate door bust open followed by impatient stomps over the limestone pavers. Shiro turned the corner of their wraparound patio and spotted Keith, quickly beelining for him. He stopped abruptly in front of the swing chair, holding back from joining Keith although it clearly pained him to do so.

"I could use a hug," Keith offered.

Shiro dumped himself sideways on Keith's lap. 

Keith caught him, a surprised smile on his lips. He was briefly torn between teasing his son, 'aren't you too old to sit on my lap?' or seizing this rare opportunity to snuggle the life out of him. Keith was not one to let an opportunity pass him by.

"Ahh, mami! Okay now you're _literally_ suffocating me. Mami! Stop - it's like a dog nose attack- Mami! This is embarrassing." He shrugged his shoulders together, trying to protect his head and neck from the undignified mom-nose snuffling. 

"Sorry," Keith lied.

He pressed his cheek to his son's forehead, loosely looping his arms around him. Shiro shook his head but settled in more comfortably. They sat quietly together, immersed in their own thoughts. It might've been the longest stretch of Shiro sitting calmly. Even when reading books, he would rearrange himself constantly. Keith drew back some and eyed his son's nose and cheekbone. Shiro had echoes of both his parents though his likeness to Lance was more pronounced when he laughed.

"You look more and more like your dad."

Shiro frowned and looked up, "Like an alpha?"

"No, like the omega version of your dad."

"Meh." He shrugged, Shiro wasn't here nor there about it.

Keith huffed in amusement and let his eyes fall shut, basking in the illusion that he could keep Shiro close forever and away from all harm. He and Lance had been through a lot trying to keep their extra-spirited child safe and providing him a sense of normalcy after the onset of precocious heat. Heat seemed to trigger rapid emotional maturity and brought its own set of challenges including Shiro refusing to eat when he needed to most. 

Shiro moved off his lap and sat next to Keith, stretching his arm out towards the skies, fingers spread wide as if offering a high five.

"Someday, I want to see the universe." He declared. He must've been mulling that trip to Uncle Lotor. "Seeing this same patch of grass, same old barnhouse, same sunset, same set of sentient beings is boring."

Keith had always suspected that Earth would never be enough for Shiro, or any of his kids to be honest. 

"We can arrange that." Keith answered.

Shiro frowned thoughtfully, "I want to stay on Earth, too. I always miss human gender dynamics when we visit Uncle Lotor. There's no pheromones to scent out there which is really weird. And I want to fight for omega rights!"

Keith smiled. Shiro wanting opposite things at once wasn't surprising. 

His son sighed, "Besides, it's messed up."

"Hm?"

"Plenty of humans in the Solar System would love to have my problems, but they don't have time to dream because they're too busy scraping enough together to live another day. They were born into the society-enforced cycles of poverty."

It was hard to keep up with his kid's freewheeling thoughts that careened from lighthearted topics to sudden analytical dissertations and back again. One moment was about omega rights and the next was poverty and sprinkled on top of it all were freakouts about his best friend.

Keith put his politicking hat back on. "One World's Bread and Butter policies-"

"Mami, One World only cares about one thing - Earth. Well, Mars too - sort of and that's it. One Jupiter, One Saturn, Moons United, and the Polar satellites have sectors of poverty and malnutrition we haven't seen in centuries. There's disparity here, too, but not like that. Two entire One Jupiter moons are still technically at war and One World doesn't care."

Shiro was on a roll, "I think non-Terran humans are seen as less authentically human. We should actually talk to non-Terran One World members and see how useful the Bread and Butter policies are. They are usually at the bottom of the list for sustenance support."

"How do you keep up with so many causes?" Keith asked, amused.

Shiro shrugged, wrapping his arms around himself. He grew subdued. In a tiny voice, he broached an entirely different subject, saying quietly, "Mama, you must think I'm a slut."

Before Keith could say anything, a distressed noise escaped Shiro. He hid his face in his hands as he groaned, "I'm basically everything Papi didn't want me to be. I'm such a let down," he sunk further into the chair, adding quietly, "He can't be proud of me after everything I did."

Keith looked at his son, surprised by his inner torment. He had always understood Clara better; she was quick to anger and then, over it. Clara was self-energized, devil-may-care personality. Shiro got his energy from his interactions with people and relationships he fostered, even brief exchanges were meaningful to him.

Keith gave Shiro a nudge while looking out at the yard, listening to the frogs croak. "Your dad loves you. There are no strings attached. He's very proud of you."

Shiro frowned looking down at the patio floor.

"I mean it."

"I know you mean it." Shiro mumbled, he didn't sound convinced though.

Keith hesitated, brain running through an endless slideshow of moments where Lance was worrying or non-stop talking about Shiro or in one way or the other doting over their son. His unabashed joy was evident when Shiro did well or tried hard or stepped up in ways that had Lance grinning from ear to ear, chest puffed out in pride.

Keith pushed, "It doesn't sound like you believe me."

Shiro gave him a pained smile, "Does papi know?"

"Not yet." 

That was going to be dicey. Lance was extremely touchy over his son having sex. He never made his peace with early heat and still wanted to protect Shiro from any attention he found suspicious. That his son was perhaps an overly liberated sexual being was an open secret in the household which was glossed over for Lance's sake. It was going to be a nightmare to discuss Shiro's behavior. Keith would figure a way to tackle it. 

Shiro covered his face, "When he finds out... " he seemed to shudder in horror. 

"He won't be pleased with you." Keith agreed, "Particularly about that eighteen year old." 

He moaned in despair, "Mama, it won't happen again."

Keith shook his head, annoyed again at the trouble his son had caused. He hadn't processed what to do about the eighteen year old, if anything, yet.

"Lance will want to track down that kid. He will probably want to press charges." He surmised.

In fact, Keith was sure of it. Lance very distinctly remembered another young alpha, Nicholas DuBois, the cadet that assaulted Keith nearly a decade ago. He was positive it would come to mind for Lance and he wasn't going to be very rational about his son's situation despite completely different circumstances. 

"Mami, no, you have to stop him!"

He side-eyed his son, "What makes you think it's just him interested in pressing charges? In the eyes of One World, a two year difference and age of maturity in one sexual partner is automatically statutory rape."

Shiro was thrumming with anxious energy. " _Mami_ . _Please_. You can't do this to him. He's a good person... I..."

"The subtleties, Shiro, see how it matters?" Keith explained, "I'm holding judgement mainly because there's the reality that some eighteen year olds are mentally more child-like than some fifteen year olds and I don't know what's at play here." 

There was nothing clearcut about the situation; Keith thought briefly of his youngest. Saul was often wise beyond his years, emotionally capable and mature, but that did not mean his brain was done developing. He was still a child and vulnerable in a manner that adults were not. Same for Shiro. Their actions could not be equated to that of a functional adult. On the other hand, what defines an adult? The law said eighteen was a grown-up but the law ignored the fact that everyone's mental maturity pace was different.

Keith needed to carefully assess the repercussions to his son. He asked, "Did you want to have sex with him all along? On your own free will? I need you to be honest."

Shiro blushed, "Yes."

"Did you know he was eighteen?"

Shiro started running his mouth, distressed over what could happen. "Yes! Mami, I convinced him. He... he asked for ID and I showed him my... hacked bioID. I was messing with him. It was me, it was me."

Keith was beyond frustrated with his son's actions. He would never know for sure mental maturity and what was truly going on in either his son or that eighteen year old's head at the time. If that alpha asked for ID then he must have suspected that Shiro was underage. 

"You're showing me that ID and how you hacked it, later."

Shiro nodded, blushing. He bit his lip hard, the tears overflowing. "I'm _sorry_." 

"I know that you are, baby," Keith sighed, more worried than frustrated, "I can't protect you from what you have already experienced. I need you to learn from this."

"I'm just fine." Shiro insisted. Keith would reserve his opinion on that.

It was upsetting to see Shiro so distraught despite everything. Keith dropped an arm over his son's shoulder who tucked himself close, curling into Keith's side as if trying to hide from the world.

"I can't come back from this."

Keith huffed lightly.

"Papi... I've done worse things..." he heard himself say. The din of past screams surged to the forefront in Keith's mind. He almost squinted at the phantom beams scorching the strategic resource buildings he had left behind. He willed the memory away before it could rampage through his psyche and focused on the present. 

"You... " He started roughly and cleared his throat, "You have to learn from your experiences, good and bad." 

He thought of the grown-ups he had slept with when he was very young and believed himself to be on equal footing with them. They had been much older than him. It wasn't until many years later that he saw things differently. Those grown-up alphas took advantage of him. It made him both sad and angry for his younger self. He had been so alone in the world that he had no one to truly watch out for him.

"You think you know everything, but you don't," Keith said softly; tone very different than earlier in the day.

Shiro's eyebrows furrowed but he remained quiet as he brushed his tears away. Keith gave him a knowing look and smiled, very sadly.

"Can you promise to talk to me if you feel differently about what happened? Sometimes things look different with time." 

Shiro looked up, gaze softening and perhaps sensing the personal baggage weighing down his mom's words, "What are you talking about?".

"I just like to talk," Keith's smile was livelier this time.

His son raised an eyebrow, "No, you don't. I think the word you were looking for was 'glare'." 

Keith chuckled, pinching Shiro's cheek just to see his well practiced I-resent-your-annoying-and-embarrassing-momness expression. His son did not disappoint, causing Keith to grin even as his head began to drift further into the tough old times of his past. 

"You know," He said, quietly, "Papi almost died from the accident that gave him his scar."

Shiro's eyes lit up with interest, curiosity instantly piqued. Neither his parents or his sister ever talked much about that time, "What was that like?"

"Bad," Keith said, his mind flashing to Lance covered in ugly bruising, semi-submerged in alien technology. The liquiform moved his limbs continuously in an eerily natural motion as if Lance had been treading water on his own instead of comatose, closer to death than life. The memory often haunted him.

"We weren't sure if he was going to make it. Many strangers were involved in saving his life..." Keith sent his gratitude toward the skies above as he would always be thankful. 

"The Wellspring and your aunt Allura brought papi back the way you know him today." 

Keith smiled as he thought of Allura and their precious shared moments. He thought about Lance's years long struggle to get better. He added, "Your dad spent a lot of time rehabilitating."

Shiro eyed him, gaze growing distant for a moment, "I think I kind of remember. I remember papi taking me for rides on his wheelchair. Maybe."

Keith was delighted, "I'm surprised you remember that. You were about three years old."

He shrugged, "I might not. I might have heard about it and my brain distorted the hearsay into a false memory."

"Okay." said Keith, still smiling.

Fully invested now, Shiro burst, "Oh and there were rocks! Like talking rocks! Like literal rocks, talking!"

Keith responded patiently, "Actually you talked to the rocks but they didn't talk back. They warbled when touched."

"Huh... are you sure?"

Keith snorted, "Yes, Shiro, I'm sure."

"Mm... Papi's wheelchair was blue?"

"It was white."

"Oh. It lit up though."

"Yeah, sometimes, depending on the command."

Shiro rubbed his chin, "One question, did we live in a big purple pumpkin?" 

Keith raised an eyebrow, "No. Though the coves were made of carved living material and were gourd-like." He paused, trying to recall, "I don't remember the colors, but they weren't purple. I think it was something white-ish."

"Sounds like a pumpkin. Ghost pumpkin variety"

"There were no pumpkins on Spring Eternal."

Shiro shifted, settling in for a story. He asked, eagerly, "Were you going to say more about Papi?"

Yeah, actually. Keith gave his son a squeeze, "When Lance recovered, the very first thing he asked about was you kids-"

Shiro immediately raised a hand as if he were in class, "Did he ask about me or Clara first? This is important. Or maybe he foreshadowed Saul?! That would be crazy!"

Keith rolled his eyes. The whole 'who's your favorite' thing again. "I don't remember who he asked about first," he lied, but didn't care for revealing the truth. "Your brother wasn't in the picture yet, obviously. It's not a competition."

"Oh my gosh Mami, think about it from the evolutionary standpoint! You and papi are a limited parental resource," he waved a hand like that was so obvious, "Technically, I should've eaten Clara and Saul to get a leg up on this survive and thrive thing."

"You want to eat your brother and sister."

"I don't _want_ to but I should! Well, Clara, it doesn't matter. She doesn't live with us anymore." His eyes narrowed, "Saul's a different story," he said as if seriously plotting his brother's demise.

"You're not bumping off Saul," Keith mentally evaluated his sons' fighting skills. Unlike Clara, both Shiro and Saul enjoyed contact sports. Hybrid martial arts for Saul and boxing for Shiro.

"Your brother might just be able to take you. He's getting stronger."

Shiro instantly dismissed the idea with a wave. "He would have to remain upright first. He's too slow."

"He's good." 

His son shrugged, stating what he saw as fact, "Yeah, but I'm better." 

Keith snorted, eyeing him wryly, "Don't get comfortable."

"That would be dumb..." Shiro dismissed. The conversation took another sudden turn as he mumbled, "Mami, Camilo hasn't talked to me for days."

"Baby, what were you expecting? You have to live with the consequences of your choices."

"I keep treating him so badly," Shiro moaned.

Which Keith found curious. He supposed it was a case of hurting the ones we love the most. He had been a nightmare to Lance back when Clara was a baby.

"Why?" he asked.

"He's _Camilo_. I can't lose him."

Confirmed - his son inherited his social dumbassery after all. "Shiro. Do you see anything wrong with that logic?"

Shiro wrung his wrist and looked away. Keith gave him a quick, supportive kiss on the top of his head, advising,"If you really care about Camilo, you would talk to him and apologize."

Shiro groaned, "I try to ping him every single day. Instead, I cry and eat cereal and bang some- some drums."

He sounded like his aunt Rachel when she was getting over a break up. At least he was eating and enjoying drumming because Keith was done contemplating his son's sexual escapades so he would believe that Shiro truly meant drumming even if it killed him.

Shiro pleaded, "Could I go visit Camilo? Just for a little bit?"

Keith stared at his son and tried not to think, ' _So you can bang him_?!' Keith was paying the karmic price for his own lifelong dedication to dick.

"Please? You could ground me for longer to make up for it?"

"We'll see," Keith huffed, "I might take you to him _if_ I have time."

Shiro seemed to think about it, "How long am I grounded?"

"You have to earn your privileges back."

His son sighed and grew quiet. He rocked the swing and looked out at the fields past the guayaba trees. He seemed deep in thought before he looked back at Keith and asked, softly, "Mami...on the fishing pier..."

"Mm." 

"What happened?"

Keith took a slow breath. He treaded carefully; his own issues weren't ones he planned to dump on his kids, "I was upset, baby. That's all."

Shiro kept staring. "Was it all because of me?" he asked.

Keith looked at him. At his worried eyes and slight frown. His son wasn't stupid; Keith had acted bizarrely at the fishing pier. There was clearly more to the story. Keith debated the merits of lying, if he said 'yes' he would afflict misdirected blame at his son but keep him from asking awkward questions that would lead to Keith answering with more lies. His past tended to stay manageable, tucked away in his subconscious, but if he wasn't careful, it could tear him down to raw, broken parts. He did not want his kids burdened with that knowledge. 

Yet, he couldn't make his baby believe he was to blame.

"It had very little to do with you. Don't worry about it, Shiro."

"I thought we were talking." In a way, Shiro sounded like he was pleading. 

"We are, baby."

"Mami..." His son's gaze seemed especially vulnerable but he persisted, "What happened on the fishing pier?"

Keith tried not to shut him down. On some level he understood that Shiro was being brave. He offered, "I'll talk about it someday, Shiro. I'm just sorry you saw that. I wasn't thinking right. I was just..." He had let his feelings overrule everything else and followed that blindly. "...reacting..."

Was he truly telling his son that his triggering actions were basically thoughtless and temper-driven?

What a juvenile response that was, Keith realized with a start. Worse, he became aware of his own double standard - earlier Shiro was too overwhelmed to talk about his behavior, literally walking away from Keith, but Keith tried to force him because that's what Keith wanted. Now, Keith didn't want to talk and Shiro had no kind of authority over him to force Keith to do so. The missing pieces slammed into place. 

_Keith_ was indeed modeling bad behavior. 

" _Shiro_." Keith said, aghast, startling his son who had looked hurt by his response. Oh my god, Keith was such an asshole. He refused to consider his son's point of view, refused to cut him a break in the midst of emotional upheaval. Refused to simply be there for him at that pivotal moment. 

"I'm suffocating the hell out of you, aren't I?"

His son's mouth dropped. He stared at Keith wide-eyed then promptly burst into tears. He took a great big stuttering breath and seemed overwhelmed by a whole avalanche of relief, "Yes!" he blubbered, vindicated, "You're awful sometimes!" 

His youngest had warned him - _Shiro is hurting inside._ His daughter had dismissed things but she wasn't there to witness the situation for herself. Keith had fault in this. He gathered his son who collapsed into his arms, crying. 

"I'm sorry," Keith said, hushed, as he rocked him, "You're still growing up. I don't mean to make things harder." 

Shiro mumbled something indecipherable. Keith rubbed his back until he was down to sniffles then gently moved him away to look him in the eye. 

"What would you like from me, Shiro?" This time Keith would give his son's thoughts the value it deserved.

It took a moment for Shiro to compose himself enough to speak. "I don't know," he sniffled, half smiling and half crying. "I just need you to listen."

"Okay, baby. I promise to do better."

A tiny whimper escaped his son, he threw his arms around his mom. 

" _Thank you_." Shiro mumbled, tearfully.

Keith held him just as tightly and smiled.

"Thank you, too."

For being his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Has anyone else mentally adopted Keith and Lance's kids? lol Hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith thinks through a lot of things yet, he ignores his own red flags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit of a filler chapter. Sorry that it is taking me longer than I had promised, I'm rewriting things somewhat as I edit. The story will definitely be completed.

It was nearing twilight when he went out to fetch his youngest child. Keith decided he would stay the night at home and have breakfast with his kids, then go back to the Garrison workshops. He would miss the Saturday seminar he favored, but would still have enough time to attend two other workshops and complete the minimum hours required for certification. 

The neighborhood was buzzing with its typical end-of-work-week rhythms. Walking up the gravel driveway, Keith could hear kids playing nearby on the street and boisterous conversations between neighbors over the sound of claves, guitar and bongo drums that were performing something slow and bittersweet. Keith was willing to bet the music was courtesy of his son and his cousins. They always brought their instruments along for an impromptu jam session if they were visiting each other. 

Keith walked past the fig trees bordering the end of the driveway and reached the street, immediately spotting his son on his aunt's porch step, two doors down. As suspected, Saul was playing his guitar alongside his older cousins. From what Keith remembered, they named themselves 'Las Polimitas' after the colorful shelled snails of Cuba which was amusing considering that they were all wearing black except for the crown of flowers and crumpled slouch socks worn by Saul.

They were surrounded by neighbors of all ages, some had settled in folding chairs that they had brought along for the occasion and chit chatted while listening to the cousins. Little kids were zipping between chairs and grownups, concerned only for their games as they laughed and shouted. Keith naturally focused on what was different; there was an unfamiliar jetcar parked across the street from his sister-in-law that had government-issued plates. Always leery of unknown variables in his environment, Keith checked for unknown faces and relaxed once he spotted a familiar form under the red canopy of the flamboyant trees that lined the sidewalk.

Lance was watching their son, too. Or had been since his gaze had already been trained on his bondmate by the time Keith caught sight of him. He was leaning against a tree trunk, enjoying the scene but purposely apart from everyone which meant that he had not planned on staying there for long. He was still in uniform, anyway. Their eyes met.

Keith watched him straighten and stroll towards him, one hand casually stuffed in a pocket. He noted from his peripheral that his son's head jerked up when Lance moved, meaning he was aware of them. Keith grinned and wiggled his fingers at Saul in greeting who smiled back as he played.

"I was on my way over," Lance said, coming to a stop well within Keith's personal space. Keith frowned up at his alpha, stepping closer so his crossed arms pressed against Lance's abs.

"What are you doing here?"

Lance's lips twitched as he said, "Told you I missed you." 

Keith smirked and hauled Lance down by his uniform collar for a quick kiss. "Why are you really here? You should be lecturing right now." 

Lance was now a popular professor for the Tactical & Operations Research track at his Garrison base. His workshop for the Garrison event required sign up and was fully booked within seconds of being made available. Since he was crazy, he volunteered to proctor all of the slots while still attending a workshop or two for his own ongoing education credits.

His gaze swept across Keith's expression, seeming to carefully assess him and bizarrely making Keith want to squirm. He leaned close, gentle hands cradling Keith's neck. 

"My backup is covering," he said as he ran his thumbs behind Keith's ears, lightly massaging, "Clara gave me a call. She was worried about you."

Everyone was giving Keith the same spiel or vibe, it was a little annoying. More so since Keith was worried, too. He let himself be soothed by his alpha's soft touch.

"I'm fine," he murmured. Keith felt needier and more worn out than usual but resisted the urge to sink into Lance's arms. It's not something he did often, much less in public. He didn't want his bondmate to really worry. 

'You should've stayed at the Garrison."

"Are you sure, Kitten?" Lance asked quietly.

He nodded, eyeing him. "Yes, I'm just pissed off at you."

"Over Clara?"

"What else? We're gonna talk after Garrison week is done."

"Okay. I don't have to go back."

Keith shook his head, "I'm going back, too. I'm heading back tomorrow. You can still make your night session if you head back now."

"I can stay. We can go back together."

Keith raised an eyebrow and said, "I really am fine."

Lance didn't question it, he simply nodded which made Keith suspicious, but Lance didn't give him any ammunition to argue against. His alpha wrapped his arms around Keith's shoulders, drawing him into a warm hug. Keith sighed quietly into his chest and breathed in his comforting scent. Keith figured that he should truly be fine given some time. Today's stresses were nothing compared to many other things in the past.

Keith could hear Lance's heartbeat and the buzzy resonance of his words as he said,"I'm staying, Kitten."

"Your call," Keith replied, amenable to his decision.

They listened to Saul and his cousins until Keith caught his son's eye and signaled for him to join them. Saul stopped playing mid-song and happily abandoned the circle of cousins and friends with a pleased, "Sorry!"

* * *

A kind of superimposed dual existence came to life for Keith. The experience of now and the past occurred at once in his mind as he interacted with Lance and his sons. While he spent quality time with his youngest, he maneuvered Black between Honerva's recon ship and the highly strategic resource planet.

At night, he smirked at Lance and curled up in his arms while his past self scaled down the full length of Sincline and leapt into the abyss, shoving his alpha into position as his bayard transformed into a sniper rifle. He could see Lance take the shot just as Red's jowls snapped down around Keith, enveloping him in darkness. 

He dreamt of cheering populations and all the faces he'd seen overcome with strong emotions. He dreamt of the time he paced the length of a tiny bunker room, Clara sleeping in his arms while he thought over Voltron Shiro's strategy - Black joining forces with Sincline to punch a hole through Honerva's self-propagating Komar mechs. In the aftermath, Keith remembered that there were virtually no civilian casualties yet two children close to Clara's age got caught in the blast and burned badly.

Keith went for a long run at dawn, feet pounding dirt and pavement while the Voltron gang puzzled over Spring Eternal's ability to vanish when an invading force arrived. At breakfast, he issued a lecturing warning to Shiro when he dropped his sons off at Emily's to finish out the weekend. He kissed him then kissed Saul and remembered the time he had been careless with one of his dagger collections. 

Back then, his youngest had run over to Keith when called and accidentally knocked over the case. The sheathed weapon was like a cattle prod when it landed on his four year old. Keith could still hear his baby's humming morph into a pained scream, the weapon tumbling on top of him and giving him several shocks.The guilt rose like bile at the back of his throat. 

Keith accepted Lance's offered coffee tumbler as he piloted his car back to Argentina. Lance would pilot the loaner car back to his Garrison base on Monday. In Keith's head the memory reel continued, Saul's screaming morphed into his rare baby whimper at eleven months old when he had been sick. Keith had been so worried despite having to divide his attention between Saul and Clara who had been grounded and was in an on and off screaming match with him and Lance all day long. 

Later that evening, Keith's heart sank when he realized that he couldn't remember the silly things Shiro had done during the day. He had completely forgotten his eldest son apart from automatically calling Shiro for meals that Lance prepared. Keith left the nursery behind and found Shiro star-fished, sleeping on his bedroom floor, storyteller panels around him. It looked like he had never changed out of his pajamas that day. It was possible that no one had even talked to him, Lance had been preoccupied with Saul and Clara, too. Keith agonized over the neglect that he couldn't undo.

At the Garrison, Keith parted ways with his bondmate. He took a deep breath when he arrived early for the next seminar and found a seat. His daughter crept back into his thoughts as he tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk. He knew he had done all the wrong things to bring her into the world. She was both sweet and a temperamental flashfire probably from living through lack of stability, structure, or proper emotional support during her formative years.

Keith leaned back, crossing his arms as he watched military faculty and other senior officers arrive and take a seat. So much past experiences to mull over and judge. Keith pushed it down and focused on the present just as his circle of colleagues from the X-flight, Weaponry and Retrieval program walked in together and joined him. They greeted him cheerfully as they sat ('Good morning, sir!')

His whole crew yet again. Keith puzzled through it. He didn't understand; he was officially reinstated to active duty a while back and was their commanding officer but that didn't matter for workshop week; they can do whatever they want. He never tried to be social with them or give any kind of personal allegiance, however, throughout Garrison week, if one of them spotted him, they would shortly join him in whatever class he attended. The rest of the team would show up as well. At lunch, they would track him down. Why were they so interested?

_"You're suffocating and mean." Shiro's voice trembled, "Living with you is like living under a totalitarian reign of terror-."_

Keith didn't think he was that bad. He really did believe in coalition and solidarity. It was how things got done. He looked around at his current teammates. For a startling moment, he saw his Voltron family in their stead. He had let them in and reaped so much good from that. He supposed that he could apply that lesson to the present. Besides, he had promised to truly consider his son's words or at least make the attempt.

Keith could stand to know his team better or rather allow them to know him better. It was unlikely that there would be any detrimental impact to their particular program if he had a better social relationship with them. Not that 'social' was ever a strong suit of his. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he watched the speaker walk in. He would try to be more open for his son and for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BTW, a flamboyant tree is not a tree that is being eccentric, lol. It's actually a kind of tree, like pine tree, fig tree, apple tree, etc. Anyway, there is mental down spiraling ahead, but you know this family knows how to roll with the punches. :) Stay safe!


	10. Ten (explicit)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith has some fun at the Garrison, then Keith and Lance have sexy fun also at the Garrison. Panties are involved. In the meantime, Keith's head keeps spinning...

Garrison Week always ended with a gala event at the main training hall where free food and free booze encouraged appetites and loosened tongues. Keith leaned back against the elevator wall and watched Lance watch him from the opposite side. He studied the curl of Lance's lips and how his bondmate was naturally mirroring Keith's body language; arms crossed, body relaxed and gaze both assertive and penetrating. He knew that Lance always delighted in witnessing Keith's no-nonsense work mode. He was so annoying, sometimes.

They observed each other in silence as the elevator descended to the ground floor. His alpha's lean body was nicely framed by the crisp lines of his Garrison staff uniform. Both the uniform and Lance had changed throughout the years, Keith nearly cracked a smile remembering the gangly baby-faced cadet that was all cocky arrogance during those initial missions. Turned out there was so much more to him. Keith held back the smile and kept his thoughts to himself and prepared to leave.

They straightened and faced the doors, side-by-side just as the elevator pinged. Keith felt a warm palm press against the small of his back and looked up at his alpha. A crooked smile greeted him.

"Ready?"

Keith raised an eyebrow then snorted and looked forward again. Ridiculous.

"Lance, I'm always ready."

He made no comment when his alpha gave him a quick pat on the ass, though he appreciated the 'attaboy'. He focused on his goal for the evening, joining the rest of the personnel that was filing into the event space. He always attended the gala out of his sense of duty but that was as far as it went. Usually, Keith would stay by the buffet table and hug the walls, idly watching Lance social butterfly his way through the event. Occasionally, his alpha would drag him into a conversation by bringing people to him. Other times, colleagues spotted him and would stop by or commiserate over dealing with such events.

He was never as alone as he attempted to be. Watch this time, since he was trying, people would be scared away . It would be just like primary school all over again. Keith nipped that thought in the bud; he was a grown-ass serviceman and mom. He can do this. Keith spotted his team as soon as he entered the gala; they were gathered together around a large banquet table, heads turned up like meerkats searching the back walls of the room. Keith smirked then looked back briefly, smiling at Lance's wink and parting ways with him. 

Keith's team was not expecting him to come through the main entrance. He snuck up behind them, getting as close as he dared, undetected. A part of him was disappointed at their lack of vigilance and decided to enhance their training exercises at a future point.

"Who are we looking for?" He asked Altagracia, one of the more gifted pilots on the team. Keith kept his voice soft and disarming, something unrecognizable for him.

"Who else?! The colonel is probably hiding under a banquet table." She said while craning her neck in the opposite direction.

"Nah," said Micah, one of the retrieval engineers, "He's probably upright wearing a curtain so he can blend in with the drapery." 

The team erupted in laughter. 

"Can you imagine?!" said George, another engineer on the team, "Like, him wearing a flowing white dress with paisley ruffles?"

Altagracia turned to share a commiserating smile and nearly had a stroke when she realized it was in fact Keith standing behind her. She shot up, unsettling the table as she stuttered, "Sir!"

The rest of the team startled when they spotted him and shot off their chairs as well, standing at attention.

Keith eyed his crew, eager to fuck with them, now that they had given him an opening he was comfortable with.. 

"At ease," he said, tone laced with poison. He watched how they warily sat back down. George was beet red.

After a pregnant pause, Keith asked, "Is there a problem with me wearing a flowing white dress with paisley ruffles?" 

They eyed him as if they thought he had lost his mind but quickly recovered, "No, sir!"

"You would look great, sir!" squeaked George.

Keith frowned darkly, eyes meeting George's. The engineer reminded him of his son with the way he blurted inappropriate things at inappropriate times. He enjoyed watching him quail in fear before asking, "How great?"

"Uh..."

"How great would I look if I wore a flowing white dress with paisley ruffles, Lieutenant?" Keith demanded.

"Um."

"Do you think you would look better than me wearing a flowing white dress with paisley ruffles?"

"No, sir!"   
  
"What if the dress was blue?"

"What... uh..."

"What, uh,  _ sir _ ." Keith corrected. 

"What, uh, sir!" George's eyes were wider then Shiro's whenever he got caught in a rare lie.

"What, uh, sir? Do you think that is a coherent sentence, Lieutenant?"

"No, sir!"

"Would wearing a flowing white dress with paisley ruffles help you speak in coherent sentences, Lieutenant?" Keith asked the beta. He ignored the neighboring tables where personnel had begun grinning in their direction.

"Yes, sir!" George blurted, causing the spectators to laugh.

"Then, you will report to work on Tuesday wearing said dress, Lieutenant," he looked at the rest of his team one by one as he continued, "And to provide you the moral support you so obviously require, the team will also report to work on Tuesday wearing flowing white dresses with paisley ruffles. Is that clear?"

They all acknowledged him with a 'yes, sir.' 

Except George who said, "Sir, yes, sir!"

Keith's eyes narrowed and he growled, "Do I look like I am in need of a sir sandwich?! Do you think I am so feeble minded that you must 'sir' me at the start of your sentence and 'sir' me at the end in case I forgot how you started, Lieutenant?!"

"Sir, no, sir!" He let out a little scream and shot off the chair to salute.

"At ease!" shouted Keith. 

George slammed back down then stood back up at attention, unused to slouching when being yelled at by a superior.

"At ease!"

Keith heard a snort from Micah and spun abruptly to face him, "Is there something funny, Major?"

He stood at attention and spoke respectfully, though there was a glint of humor in his eyes, "No, sir." 

Keith stalked closer so he could scrutinize every minute expression on the alpha's face.

Micah dared to add, "You would look great in a flowing white dress with paisley ruffles, sir."

"What a compliment, Major, I'm honored," Keith yelled in his face, then added, "I will be more honored on Tuesday when you wear a beautiful ruffled curtain that blends well with the A1 hangar."

"Yes, sir. I will wear my finest ruffles, sir."

Keith kept staring at Micah, daring him to laugh. The waiting game stretched on until Keith did something he had never done before; he let his own personal amusement and fondness for his team soften his expression and curl his lip by the tiniest of margins. He even chuckled silently as he stared at Micah while the rest of the team watched in awe. Micah stared ahead even harder, desperate to keep his face straight.

"You look constipated, Major. Are you constipated?"

"No, sir. This is my normal face, sir."

"What a tragedy. Send my condolences to your bondmate, Major."

"Yes, sir." Micah grinned as the rest of the team laughed.

"Is this chair for me?" asked Keith, pointing at the empty chair beside the engineer.

"You are welcome to sit there, sir."

Keith made himself comfortable and looked around at the team before addressing Micah again. 

"At ease."

Micah sat back down, directing his beaming smile at his superior. Keith's smile was ever so subtle as he watched the rest of his team relax and gather close around him. He looked past them at the rest of the gala in search of his alpha. Lance wasn't hard to find, his circle of friends were standing close enough to notice Keith's table and had turned to watch. Lance was in the middle of the group, watching with a neutral expression as if he forgot that he could be observed, too. His bondmate seemed to snap out of it when their eyes met and grinned mischievously, raising his wine glass in a toast.

It made Keith feel very good. He turned away, pleased to have potentially impressed his alpha with his modicum of social success, albeit it was in his own special way. He can lean into some of his natural tendences like his dry humor and be personable on his terms. 

"You're all worse than first year recruits at boot camp," he advised his team.

"Sorry, sir." Said George.

Keith spared an amused look at the engineer then turned his attention to Altagracia.

"What did you think of the seminars?" Keith started.

It sparked a conversation.

* * *

Lance worked the room per usual. He was involved in some of the bigger bursts of laughter in the event, although Keith caught him sneaking long looks his way during quieter moments and suspected that his alpha was probably going to tease him later over his sudden interest in socializing. That was a small price to pay. Keith remained engaged with his team; he managed to add more laughs by showcasing his talent for appropriating whole shrimp plates from the buffet without anyone noticing (bored misdirection and casual confidence when balancing a two tier tray).

When his drawled response to a question inexplicably made his team burst out in laughter, Keith caught Lance slipping out of the banquet hall. He frowned, noting that it wasn't in the direction of the bathrooms, but perhaps his bondmate had a call or forgot something in the classroom. Keith ate the whole bottom tray worth of shrimp before he began to worry. 

He texted -  _ Okay? _

He received a response shortly after - _ Yup. Lounging. Just enjoying some me time. :) _

Lance lounging by himself? While there was a social gathering? 

_ Where? _

_ Juno Hall by security _

Keith handed the remaining shrimp to Altagracia and excused himself. 

He found Lance tucked away in the open lounge area. It was one of the least popular spots as it was in a wing that was currently being renovated. Lance was sitting on a dated, stiff looking couch, nursing a cocktail as he watched a celebrity gossip stream that he had projected on his comm. Keith leaned against one of the sanded down columns, crossing his arms. Lance merely smiled at him before focusing back on the stream. Bizarre.

"What's up?"

Lance leaned back on the sofa, half-shrugging. "Not much, babe." 

"Really? You left the spotlight. Voluntarily."

Lance's eyes softened with amusement; he glanced briefly at Keith as he took a sip of his fancy drink. 

"Yup," he said and patted the space beside him in invitation. His whole mannerism was still off. Aloof almost.

Keith couldn't decipher what the heck was going on with his alpha. His scent wasn't providing any hints. He studied his bondmate's steadfast focus on the stream which wasn't particularly interesting, then sat by him and eyed his drink. Keith could be weird, too. He leaned in, wrapping his fingers over Lance's on the stem of the glass and stole a sip, then he stole it away all together and drank the whole thing in three gulps.

"Martini?" He asked, licking the candy-like flavor off his lips.

"It was a lemon drop cocktail," replied Lance.

"Huh."

Lance stared, eyebrows raised. "So it's not that you don't drink alcohol. It's that you exclusively drink your bondmate's alcohol."

"Yes." Keith replied, unashamed and hoping for a buzz. "Why are you here?"

Lance shrugged and looked back at the screen, "I'm just not up to the crowds tonight. Tired, I guess."

"Mm." said Keith, thoughtfully. That  _ could _ be. Lance did have a hard week. He looked Lance up and down; he was slouched in his seat. Too slouched. His alpha looked much too casual and relaxed for it to be genuine. Maybe. Keith had been off-balance all day, he couldn't fully trust his own judgement at the moment.

Lance smiled again and placed his hand over Keith's, loosely intertwining their fingers. It felt normal and easy so maybe Keith was reading into things that weren't there.

"Did you notice me socializing?" he asked, starting to smile back at his bondmate.

There was a slight stiffening of Lance's shoulders and very slight curling of fingers before his alpha relaxed.

He chuckled, "Yeah.Your team likes you, Kitten. That's obvious."

"Strange." Keith replied, bemused. He never tried to be friendly before but they had grown attached anyway and welcomed this side of him.

Lance squeezed his hand and let out an amused huff, "It must be a living nightmare for you."

Keith admitted, "It felt close to what we were like," he paused, then clarified, "the Voltron gang, I mean." 

There was infinitesimal stiffening and looking away. Lance chuckled a beat too late. Again. Okay, Keith was  _ not _ imagining it.

"Nice," Lance said. His enthusiasm sounded rather forced.

What was  _ up _ with him? Why wouldn't Lance be excited over Keith's new camaraderie with his Garrison team. The whole week, each time Lance witnessed him with his team first hand, he would get in a weirdly subdued mood. It was bringing Keith all the way back to their first few months at the castleship when Lance had a very obvious crush on Allura and would get mopey after she got along particularly well with a new ally. Why would witnessing mutual respect and friendly teasing... 

...and suddenly things clicked. Oh my god, Lance was jealous!  _ Whaaat _ , said Keith's brain. How was that even possible - they have been together for a million and one years...

During the Voltron days, they lived in virtual social isolation. Many people touched their lives, but their daily social circle was their tiny Voltron family so when the war was over, Keith and Lance over-killed on jealousy. They were possessive and short fused; maladjusted to sharing when war groomed them to claim and defend. Then, life moved on and so did they, Keith and Lance mellowed out as they grew accustomed to a big (human-filled) world. So this... quiet secret jealousy thing... was cute.

"What?" wondered Lance, knowing Keith well and catching his broadening smile. 

"You're jealous."

"Huh? Kitten," Lance snorted, "Am not. We're way too old for that."

Wow, look at that growing pout and the red tinge at the edge of his ears.

Keith's smile softened, "Okay. Sorry. Let's go back."

"Sure. Okay." said Lance as if he had something to prove now.

Keith carefully contained his own grin and led Lance back to the gala. He wasn't going to tease his alpha over it, he had a much better idea in mind. The first thing he did upon their return was drag Lance over to his team and introduce his bondmate. Not only did he introduce his alpha, Keith  _ bragged  _ about him. Lance was a great father, a good cook, a good housekeeper, and on top of that he was famous at the Columbian Garrison for being an amazing instructor and wonderful overall mentor. He was a former pilot and pilot instructor and was the best apart from Keith, obviously. His sniping abilities were second to none. Yes, they were truly Paladins. No, the Galra weren't all like the rumors, they were as varied as humans. Yes, Lance was integral to the universe's freedom.

Keith had never seen Lance so stunned or flustered. He gave him time to recover by introducing the team as well, describing their strengths and interests to Lance which apparently surprised them that he was aware. Just because he never participated in the chit chat didn't mean he was deaf. Keith hoped he wasn't making a mistake in opening up to them. It was already exhausting to socialize so much but he thought it might ultimately benefit him.

His team flooded Lance with questions. He could scent a rush of pheromones around him - excitement. He subtly leaned closer to his alpha and added the parts of the story where he had been impressed or moved by his bondmate. Later, while Lance cracked jokes with Micah, Keith broke away and joined a few omega colleagues he saw huddled together in a corner of the room. They were frowning as they watched a group of alphas near the buffet. Keith immediately understood the problem.

They shared a weird instinctual urge for spreading out any big gathering of Alphas clumped together. They exchanged knowing looks and ate the shrimp Keith acquired. He then did his part and returned to his alpha's side, stealing him away from his team.

"Kitten." Lance said, grinning widely as he was escorted away. He knew exactly what was up.

Keith smiled sweetly and threatened, "Before you say anything, remember that I can easily kill you."

Lance laughed.

"Aren't those some of your colleagues from the Columbian adjunct?" Keith asked, eyeing a group hanging out near the bar service. A few of them turned to look at them and had waved. The faces were definitely familiar, Keith had been introduced before at previous gala events.

"Yeah." Lance said, pleased. 

Keith took Lance's hand, something he had never done in prior Garrison events and steered them towards the group. He grinned at the change in Lance's scent as they struck up a conversation. His thumb gently rubbed over Lance's in slow circles, throughout. His bondmate's scent was telling him that Lance was in a mood that was very interesting to Keith. 

There was one more trick up Keith's sleeve to shore up his Alpha and make it a night for him to always remember. For years, Lance's sister had been trolling him, sending sexy effeminate underwear for his anniversaries that Keith wouldn't typically go for. He shoved them in one of his jetcar's storage compartment intending to toss them but then he never wasted any more effort on them until the next anniversary 'gift'. Keith excused himself for the bathroom. 

He detoured for his jetcar, followed by a pit stop at their hotel which was across the street on the campus. He hit up the hotel's laundering services, enduring the alpha attendant's sneaky little smile at his costly splurge on instant rinse & clean for a whole bag worth of cute and/or sexy silk and frills. It better be worth it. He was back at the Gala within twenty minutes, ready to comment on the long wait for the bathroom. There was no need; Lance did not seem suspicious, he had been busy socializing. Perfect.

* * *

Keith had been signaling all night that he wanted to get into some mischief with his alpha. A lingering touch here. A pleased look there. Interesting twist to words that could be construed as a flirtatious tease. It led to slipping away before their scents could no longer be confused for anything other than sexual. Which was why they were in the corner of a dimly lit classroom, the only light coming from the glass panel on the door. 

Keith was hot and wet, especially where Lance's fingers teased, over his clothes.

"What's gotten into you?" Lance wondered, excited nonetheless. Keith in work mode was usually a no nonsense asexual overlord (which Lance had a kink for, naturally).

"Nothing yet." Keith smirked, cupping Lance's half mast erection over his pants.

Lance laughed, unbuttoning Keith's fly one-handed so he could slip his fingers inside. He was all in on the fun. Keith held his breath in anticipation. He felt the firm touch move across silk. His heart raced when Lance frowned in confusion, his fingers rubbing the material curiously. His forefinger traced the scalloped waistband then stilled near Keith's side.

Lance's scent spiked.

"Kitten... what are you wearing?"

Keith wriggled his uniform trousers down to his thighs, revealing pink bikini-cut panties. He raised his uniform top, showing a glimpse of his six pack abs encircled in delicate silk. A tiny smirk was his only response to the suffocating surge of hormones from his alpha. Lance seemed to have lost his ability to breathe. 

" _ Kitten _ ." Lance shivered as if a shock had run through his system. 

Keith knew that him in panties was one of Lance's biggest kinks. A high pitched whimper escaped before Lance swallowed and licked his lips as if they were suddenly parched. He licked again, wide eyes darting up to Keith's face then down to the slip of underwear below. 

Keith stuck a thumb into the waistband and cupped his cock using his free hand, giving it a squeeze. He stretched the material down and towards Lance, the dim light catching some of the silky luster framing his pussy. The material was stretched enough that a sliver of cotton at the crotch panel was revealed too. Keith watched as Lance gave himself a firm squeeze.

Keith stepped forward and shivered when Lance gripped his waist. He blushed as he met his alpha's eyes and attempted to detail a scenario that he thought might be arousing for him. Otherwise, he would've made some blunt demands. Dirty narratives weren't his strength.

"I was thinking of what it would be like going back out there wearing these... the panties..." he paused briefly as another wave of aroused embarrassment hit him at simply acknowledging the underwear to his alpha. It wouldn't be so bad if Lance hadn't always made such a big deal over Keith and pretty underwear. It felt odd to even be embarrassed

"...after you lose it all over them," he finished awkwardly. He could've said it sexier but he tried. Keith added, almost as an afterthought, "I would be walking around in panties soaked in your come."

" _ Oh my god _ ," said Lance, visibly shaken in the best way possible.

He stumbled forward, struggling to open his own fly and gripping his cock, immediately angling into the space between Keith's cunt and crotch panel material. The hand on Keith's waist went around to one silk covered ass cheek, squeezing tight. Keith licked his lips and watched his bondmate fitfully work his shaft. Lance's body was cast in light and shadows; somehow the dim lighting made everything else more pronounced - the fingers digging into his ass cheek, the knuckles that incidentally brushed against Keith's dick, the panting breaths and the slight creak of the floor when Lance shifted - it all winded Keith up. He felt familiar wetness inside, his cunt squeezed tight.

His bondmate was so helplessly aroused. The hand on Keith's ass suddenly disappeared and his arm went around the small of Keith's back. Keith felt the strength in Lance's flexed muscles as he was lifted off his feet. Lance yanked Keith's pants off one leg and helped him wrap his leg around his waist. He felt his alpha's fingers search for the crotch of the underwear, then roughly hook over the silk and tug it aside enough to fit his dick. He dragged his straining cock through the heat of Keith's cunt. 

Keith moaned and crammed a hand down between their flushed bodies to finger his clit. Lance had buried his face on Keith's shoulder. He could feel his alpha's harsh puffs and rumbling groan while the friction below began to build. His bondmate released the panties, trapping the head of his dick between the crotch panel and Keith's pussy. He stretched out the crinkled rectangular cotton just as his hips rolled and cock pulsed. The hot soak of his ejaculate spread through the seat of Keith's underwear and dribbled down the sides. Keith gasped, so turned on by Lance's actions that his own stilled touch on his clit triggered a fluttering orgasm.

"Ah fuck, fuck." moaned Lance in tandem to Keith's whines, holding him tight. 

Lance slowly let him slide back down to his feet. Keith could feel the fine tremor in his alpha. They both looked down almost in disbelief as Keith ran his fingers lightly on the outside of the come splattered panties. He snuck a peek inside the waistband and could see glistening drops cling to his light thatch of pubic hair.

"Kitten-" started Lance, completely wrecked.

Keith shook only slightly as he further fussed with the underwear, the body-warm jizz wet more of his cunt when pressed flush. It smeared on his inner thighs when he pressed them together. A quick look up told him that Lance's mind was blown. Also, that  _ scent _ . Keith couldn't believe that he was seriously racing towards the edge again. His pussy ached to be filled. He wanted to struggle around something big and thick inside. He wanted to feel his alpha's balls pressed intimately against him.

"Lance." Keith begged.

Lance got the message and pulled him flush, jutting his bare thigh between Keith's, making him blush in hot twisting shame over rubbing one out in this manner. Keith rocked his hips, squeezing the solid weight with his thighs and grinding his spread pussy on firm muscles.

Lance was getting handsy - that dark possessive look and scent that Keith loved to suffer for when in the mood. Lance pulled the front of the panties taut and shifted their positions so the light hit the underwear which was stained a darker pink where wet; the material was mostly transparent so his alpha could see every detail of his petite cock and how it was trapped uncomfortably within the strained silk. Keith could feel how further below, the panties bunched roughly and dug into his cunt, his folds jutting out on either side.

"Lance, I could go again." He said urgently, shaking as he rocked against the thigh between his legs. Lance reached down wrapping his arms around Keith and hauling him up onto the tall demonstration table they had bumped up against. He quickly dragged a student chair over for Keith to plant his feet on.

Lance helped him sit right on the edge, eyes fixed on the pair of panties the whole time. He stuck a knee between Keith's feet so he was facing Keith, half kneeling on the chair. Carefully, he slid a thumb down from Keith's cock, over his mound and dipping through the core of his cunt. His thumb disappeared from view, nudging at his puckered hole as far as it could reach, given Keith was seated on the desk. Keith sat back on his elbows, lifting his hips, feeling his alpha's thumb wriggle inside his anal tract. 

His breathing grew labored and shallow as the thumb curled and thrusted. Their eyes locked, Keith's physical response bared to his alpha. His body rocked, meeting the thrusts and growing wet with slick. Lance curled his hand over Keith's hip, a grounding presence that didn't try to take control. Keith began to dribble slick. It felt surreal breaking down this way in a classroom.

Lance shuddered and pulled out gingerly, replacing his thumb with two fingers, sliding them inside the soft inner entry of Keith's cunt. Keith squeezed around the fingers and rolled his hips. He threw his head back as he panted.

"I can feel how wet you're getting, baby." 

He twisted his hand at the wrist, fingers wriggling each time Keith squeezed. Lance fucked around with the panties, pulling it neatly in place, save for where he was buried knuckle deep. He ran his fingers over the jizz still coating Keith's thighs, scooping what he could past the panties and smearing it over Keith's folds. The action made Keith whine, his body was burning hot. 

"Fuck," Keith whimpered, dropping back.

With his free hand, Lance slid his thumb and forefinger down one side of Keith's pussy, bracketing the fat lip right over the panties then pinched enough to hurt and set Keith on fire. 

"Fuck!" Keith cried out, "Ah!"

Lance kept the hold and twisted the fingers he had buried inside Keith as deeply as he could. Keith was falling apart. He moaned in utter agony, squirming and trying to seek relief from the painful pinch. Finding none, he whined pitifully, further tortured by any shift that strained the pinch even more so. Keith began to pant, his fingers scrabbling the wood of the desk, attempting to find better purchase. 

"You're so fucking hot like this, Kitten," said Lance, "does it hurt?"

"Yes," Keith hissed and shook like a leaf, trying to manage the pain and searing heat he felt from feeling stuffed by his alpha's fingers..

"You're mine," Lance declared, twisting his pinching fingers.

"Yes!"

"Shh, Kitten," Lance said, nervously, glancing through the door's window panel.

Keith took several shallow breaths, attempting to get a hold of himself but failing. 

"You're getting so wet. Can you get off?"

Keith forced his trembling arms to move, he pulled the uniform blazer up high and fingered his clit with his other hand. His pussy  _ hurt _ . It was horrible and wonderful pleasure. Lance worked his fingers, the wet noise and Keith's hoarse gasps for air were loud in the room.

"I'm gonna come." Keith said, tone urgent. 

"Yeah," Lance moaned. Keith watched his gaze dart across his body. He felt pinned in place in more ways than one. "Cream your panties, Kitten."

Keith stifled a squeal as he pressed the pad of his middle finger hard against his swollen clit and circled. Lance's buried fingers curled, pressing the area near his clit from the inside. Keith cried out, completely losing himself to each shuddering uncontrolled spasm inside. He might've drenched the table as he orgasmed. Each squeeze was a standalone peak of gratifying pleasure. His head floated in a sea of bliss. 

He took a deep breath and let his body slump back bonelessly. Shit, was that good. He relaxed all the way when Lance carefully eased his fingers out and slid his hand over his hip. The touch memory of laying back on a table for a stolen moment crossed with the visual of Lance smiling down at him while in a military environment. He almost expected to see their Paladin armor somewhere nearby.

Keith blinked. His smile disappeared as his head began to sink. He reached out in anxious desperation, placing his hand over Lance's at his hip. He almost grimaced when their eyes met. Lance frowned slightly, gaze sharpening and darting across Keith's face seeming to catch his discomfort.

He slipped his arms around Keith, pulling until he was upright and cuddled to Lance's chest. 

"Is something wrong?" Lance asked quietly by Keith's ear.

Keith shook his head and smiled into Lance's shoulder. He was not going to be shaken by a stray mixed up memory. "No. Feeling needy."

"Aw."

Lance held him like he intended to defend Keith from any and all ails, hands massaging down Keith's back. In his alpha's embrace, Keith felt his body relax once more, his random anxiety assuaged. Maybe he should say something, but what would be the point? Unsettling thoughts happened sometimes. He breathed passed the wavering moment until he was centered again. 

Keith sat back, adjusting the battered underwear, letting Lance have his fill of the view. He considered his bondmate's fixation on the panties. It was probably a huge kink because Keith disliked them and it ran opposite of his masculine preferences. Somewhere along the way, Keith's spot on the omega masculine to feminine spectrum lost meaning or significance. Once he truly stopped caring about what the underwear meant or didn't mean, he stopped actively disliking them.

"I have so many of these," he said mostly to himself, thinking about the way all of the panties burst out of the small jetcar compartment when he had opened it.

"What?! Where?"

Keith grinned and didn't bother answering. He could take the pair he was wearing off entirely and discreetly discard them. He would prefer less of that tattered ick feeling against his nether regions, but he wasn't beyond blowing Lance's mind some more and making good on the little fantasy he outlined - Colonel Keith walking around wearing delicate underwear that was wet with his own release and his alpha's seed. 

He could return to the gala briefly, maybe a quick walk through, and deal with the sore ache, awkward gait, and suspect scent for a little bondmate teasing. Keith pulled his trousers back up and straightened the uniform, cleaning up as well as he could. He tidied his hair, redoing the ponytail while he mentally built himself back up. He slid off the table and headed for the door.

"What-" Lance started.

"I want to head back to the gala. " Keith said and heard a choke. 

Keith looked back, a hint of playfulness lurking behind his own self-assured authoritative gaze. He offered his hand to his bondmate as he said, "I want you to fuck me properly later."

Lance nearly swooned and rushed to take his hand. "Yeah, okay."

Keith grinned. Later, he would surrender to the cadence of his alpha's hips pressing him into the mattress. He gave himself a little pat on the back, mentally lauding today's accomplishments of handling Shiro's situation, successfully suppressing his issues and taking care of his bondmate, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't wise for Keith to suppress his issues. Next chapter will have a trigger warning. 
> 
> Also:  
> Lance checks the hotel room. Lance checks the jetcar and Keith's person. Lance goes home and cleans up the closet and all the shelves and the dresser at least twice. He searches under the bed and between the mattress. He feels for any loose concrete on the walls or under any carpets and opens the kitchen cabinets and reaches into the nooks not within view and stares at his sons who wonder what the heck he's doing. He walks around the perimeter of the house and checks the shed and barnhouse. He then opens his spreadsheet and updates his search, daily. He vows to one day find that bag of sexy underwear. :D


	11. Eleven (explicit)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith shatters. (Please heed the trigger warning in the notes.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings: Scary moments ahead consisting of flashback triggered violence. Mental health issues. Starts with sex and then it goes downhill.

Sex was soft. Lance had his arms wrapped tightly around Keith, one around his waist, the other high enough on his back that his fingertips skirted near Keith's ticklish armpit, making Keith leery of the touch. The slip of underwear that inspired a night of flirtatious fun lay crumpled on the floor near the headboard, long forgotten. Keith worried his bottom lip, hiking his legs higher along Lance's sides, his thighs falling open, inviting more of his alpha. Lance's thick cock pushed in deeper, laying claim, making Keith shiver and clench around the solid girth that kept him amply spread.

Lance was making a six-course meal out of him, determined to award him for an unforgettable evening. A thick pillow under Keith's hips kept him comfortable and perfectly propped for the slow, indulgent thrusts. His bondmate's narrow hips rocked him steadily into the mattress and stilled against Keith's pelvis when he produced a fresh dribbling of slick. 

Keith endured the feeling of his own fluids thoroughly soaking the full length rooted inside him, aware that Lance had paused just to savor the mess he was making; highlighting Keith's receptiveness. There was no hiding how wet he was or his helpless squeezes around his alpha's cock or the way his hips and legs wriggled anxiously in an effort to get Lance moving again. 

"You're so wet," Lance breathed, sliding a hand down Keith's jawline and tipping his chin up for a heated kiss.

"Lance," Keith whined, drawing back enough to pant, "C'mon."

He needed that dick inside him to move. He tried to squirm but there was no room to draw his hips back and Lance wasn't budging. His legs fidgeted uselessly alongside Lance's hips, the soles of his feet skating down Lance's calves. The more Keith tried to get some friction, the more desperate he felt at getting none and the more his body slicked the path for his bondmate. 

" _C'mon_." he begged, weaving his fingers together behind Lance' neck and eyeing the soft smile and hot gaze locked on him.

Lance leaned forward, nuzzling Keith from cheek to neck and pressed chaste kisses on the sensitive skin. Keith tilted his head to the side, giving his bondmate more space as he whined. 

"...Lance..." he slurred sofly, body sagging under his alpha's unhurried warmth. 

His pace slowed everything down to a pleasant simmer. Lance whispered close to Keith's ear as the fog in Keith's head cleared enough for the words to sink in. 

"I love you so much. Thank you for being mine." 

Keith squeezed his eyes shut and blushed harder at how his body clenched in response to Lance. Blatant, soft declarations were hard to take even with the years together. 

He felt a shiver run through Lance's body and melted underneath him, taking deep breaths, staying relaxed and open for his bondmate. Lance rocked his hips anew, punching in powerfully while Keith's brain and heart scattered to pieces, bared raw and vulnerable. Keith felt like putty being molded by his bondmate. Higher functioning thought quieted under the simple pleasure of his alpha taking him. He felt a warm buzz with each drag into his body, distantly aware of the noisy squish produced. 

Lance tucked his limbs tight around Keith, nuzzling his neck and cradling him in his arms. There was no space between them and no room for Keith to escape... oh no. The good feelings were sinking under pressure that threatened to overwhelm... like the time Keith was thrown into surrounding alien marshlands under the weight of a levee blown to pieces by a missile. 

Red flag. His body was on the edge of tensing up. Pleasure seeped away, replaced by borderline panic. Keith was _trapped_! 

_No_.

Keith was in control of his faculties even if his body felt like it was being pushed under; the casualty of a long ago ambush. The initial impact badly damaged his body. But! That was forever ago, Keith was not wasting energy on tactile-triggered nightmares. The twisted rage and fear of those times could not happen again, he reminded himself even as his body geared up for another high-stakes fight for survival. Keith squeezed his eyes shut. 

_No_ . _Definitely not right now!_ He demanded, his body assaulted by thrusts _._ The pressure suddenly eased. He barely noticed his alpha's cock had slipped out of his body. Keith steadfastly ignored his body and the slow spin of the room as he caught the worried frown on his alpha's handsome face. His bondmate landed several apologetic kisses on Keith's lips, misunderstanding his stress. 

Keith could smell his own acrid scent. He knew that if his alpha had the ability to scent pheromones, he would've reeled back in alarm. The tiny voice in Keith's head said that it wasn't too late, maybe say something. The louder, more dominant voice insisted that he handled things just fine so far and this night had been so great, why ruin things now. 

He chewed his bottom lip as Lance pulled away to maneuver Keith's legs together tugging them to one side so the underside of Keith's thighs were by a hip. He then kissed Keith, nudging his way back inside his cunt. The new position - Keith's lower half curled to the side - forced shallower plunges. 

"Better?" Lance asked.

Keith smiled and nodded as calmly as he could. If Keith could just concentrate on the thrusts and not the fact that his body was again trapped under pressure. His alpha's cock spearing him felt so good. On the other hand, the thrusts pushed him...

He took a deep breath.

...the thrusts pushed him into the murky waters. Mud and debris pressing over him. _No_. 

Keith squirmed, "Fuck me," he begged, squeezing his eyes shut, "Please, _please_." 

He shouldn't have let Lance change their position. If his boyfriend would only slam into him hard enough to hurt, Keith could keep the memories in the past where they belonged. 

" _Please_."

Otherwise, he would succumb to the thick stew of metal and sludge that nearly buried him alive in marshlands. The initial explosion knocked him off his feet and into that death trap below. He was helpless to the laws of physics forcing him into the sludge. The weight compounded by the tick, forcing him to take shallow breaths within the brief air pocket and then none at all as pressure swallowed him up and pulled him under. 

_Stay calm or you die._

He couldn't move. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears. He was an insignificant speck at the mercy of forces so much more powerful than he or his fragile body. The constricting pressure was so overwhelming that his bones were in danger of fracturing. Keith grew dizzy from lack of blood circulation. His lungs strained. He kept sinking into fathomless darkness. His thoughts were growing sluggish and dim.

 _Clara,_ he thought. His baby. She sprang to mind, so vivid, almost too bright to set eyes on. She was laughing, pure and innocent. He watched, entranced as her life unfolded in front of him. She might live in the free world he fought for and enjoy a personal peace that Keith was never afforded; he approached such peace only when he had her safe in his arms or sometimes when Lance held him. 

_Keith_ . _KEITH_. 

"-ten? Kitten? What's wrong?" 

His name echoed across the void, uttered by a chorus of familiar voices.

"Baby, you there? Can you hear me?"

He crossed over to the lions' domain. His fellow paladins were there screaming at him. 

_Keith_! Cried Pidge.

 _Don't give up now!_ Said Hunk _._

 _I'm almost there. Hang on!_ breathed Allura (Hadn't she passed away?).

 _Are you giving up?!_ Lance asked, incredulous. He was wounded. _Get the hell up, mullet! You're not done yet! Claw your way out, asshole!_

 _FIGHT._ Echoed all around him. 

Could he move? Even if he could... "I can't tell what direction is up?"

In the distant background, Lance whispered,"What? Honey... I think you're having a flashback. Are you having a flashback?" 

But Keith's eyes were wide in terror, seeing only the past. It was agonizing to move.

 _Fight_! 

"Kitten?" 

Keith fought his own choking gulps of bitter alien sediment when another powerful blast sent him and the surrounding muck flying. The levee had been blown to pieces. Even so, Zarkon's troops were too late, Keith thought as his lungs burned. The Blade had managed to get people to high ground so the empire was wasting its time and resources on destroying the town. The dissenters were the valuable asset here and they lived to see another day. 

Falling hard and fast, Keith tried to brace for the crash landing. Bones surely cracked at the impact, he nearly blacked out, but he had no time for that because enemy Galra had arrived to finish the job. The wild glare and snarl of a soldier who landed nearby (boots on the ground? They wanted confirmation on target status). The soldier lunged for Keith, phaser gun incapacitated by the town's shielding tech, she had a knife-blade held high, hellbent on snuffing out Keith's life. Keith's body moved on instinct, self-defense and survival so deeply ingrained. He was furious, if he wasn't going to make it alive neither was his enemy. 

Something gleamed in the rubble and Keith reached for it - glass. He swung, intent on plunging the shard deep into his would-be killer's vital organs. The startled gasp ("Keith, baby it's me. It's Lance. You're safe. You can stop. You're safe.'') gave him hope. He could feel the sweat and the rapid breathing of the body on top of him, the enemy's scent was so much like Lance's.

Wait. 

Keith froze, startled. The cloak made of harsh memories vanished revealing an impossible reality. The snarling Zarkon soldier was actually his alpha quietly staring down at him, eyes wide. He was sitting on Keith, naked, pinning him down with his weight.

"What-"

Horror and growing panic was sucking Keith through a vortex. The dissonance had been building all day and he had _ignored_ it. A shrill internal mantra of - _I tried to kill my bondmate! -_ overwhelmed his senses.

"-okay."

What? White hot pain burned his palm. His fist was wrapped around a large shard of glass that was cutting deep into skin. Shimmering pieces of glass lay shattered across the nightstand and bed sheets; remnants of a cup that Keith had left there earlier. Keith jerked his hand open and desperately tried to shake free the shard that was stuck to his palm, condemning him. Other tiny pieces shimmered in the light, encrusted in his flesh.

"Baby, you with me?"

"I can't get this off!" He cried over the ringing noise in his ears, voice high-pitched.

"It's okay," His alpha projected nothing but rock-steadiness, "Let me see." 

He slowly reached for Keith's wrist but Keith beat him to it, yanking the glass out with a vicious tug using his free (shaking) hand. Blood gushed out of the open gash though he didn't feel it.

" _Keith_ ," breathed Lance, softly admonishing, "Hold on, baby." 

He moved the red smeared shard out of sight and firmly held Keith's injured hand by the wrist. Lance reached to the side, grabbing a pillow and shaking free the pillowcase; he used the folded cloth to slow the flow of blood. Keith watched in silence, eyes tearing up, feeling as if he were drawing breath from a brittle core. 

He started, voice clogged, "I didn't mean to-"

"Its okay," Lance soothed and cupped his hand, curling his fingers over Keith's making him add pressure to the pillowcase that was bunched over the gash. He moved very slowly from his perch on top of Keith, the mattress dipping under his weight as he laid down beside him. Keith's body trembled while Lance moved his arm toward his waist. Keith immediately dropped into Lance's chest, desperate for the strong, firm hug that followed.

"Shh," Lance gentled, rubbing Keith's back in consistent circles.

Keith held on, willing down his racing heartbeat. He sucked in Lance's comforting scent and focused on stabilizing his rough breathing. Hot tears spilled down his cheeks. He wished he could quietly disappear and just be non-existent. A soft consoling noise escaped his bondmate when he felt Keith's tears on his chest.

"Kitten, it's okay." Lance murmured and dropped kisses on his head and cheek, holding him tight.

"I'm _sorry_." Keith moaned, not recognizing the raw husk of his own voice.

Lance squeezed him, "Its okay," and asked, hushed, "Where were you?"

"What?" Keith sniffled.

"In your head, what were you seeing?"

"Does it matter?" Keith gasped, bereft.

Lance kissed anywhere he could reach. "Of course it does, Kitten."

Keith swallowed the big lump in his throat and tried to think. He started, "One of the joint campaigns with the Blade. Clara was planet-side and I couldn't reach the rebel assets. It was unclear who was who for several quintants."

"Okay," Keith felt his bondmate nod and then continue, "I remember the campaign. Follow it through baby, what happened in the end?"

Keith breathed out.

"Zarkon loyalists got wind of the rebel leaders in the area and informed the enemy troops. I helped the Blade get the resistance out in time. I ended up by the major levee in town." 

"And Clara?"

Keith panicked for a moment, before remembering, "She was safe on the other side of the world. You had her."

"Yeah. What about our sons, Shiro and Saul?"

Keith swallowed, knowing Lance was checking the depth of his confusion, "They weren't there. They weren't born yet."

"Yeah. Clara's all grown up now. Shiro's almost old enough to vote here on Earth. And Saul, he's playing his music in front of the whole neighborhood comfortably, nowadays."

Keith nodded, feeling the tension in his shoulders drain, realizing that Lance's narrative helped the world normalize and orient itself properly. He repositioned his head on his bondmate's chest and stared ahead at nothing. Lance held him closer and kissed him. 

Keith said in anguish, "Bonded and raising kids, pretending I'm just like everyone else when I'm a broken fucking monster."

"You're no monster. Don't be so cruel to yourself," Lance snapped at him, fiercely. "We had to fight fire with fire. We did what we had to do to free the universe. We won. We survived. We get to move on." 

Keith snorted. He could hear his son's screams from the day before (STOP! STOP!). Shiro understood that Keith was going to do a monstrous thing. In broad daylight in peacetime. That that asshole had gotten between Keith and his child. His blood curdled. He had _zero_ tolerance for anyone endangering his kids; the perceived threat triggered a very bad down spiral... He would _never_ allow...

Keith froze. _Fuck_. He was slipping into old patterns again and it was terrifying. It was so seamless. 

"I can't..." Keith said, panicked.

"Baby-"

Keith thought he could smell the singed stink of debris that fell on top of him that day by the levee. Common threads from the past, where he feared leaving his child without their mom, repeating his own lonely experience, was bringing up the worst memories. He panted and managed to warn Lance, "I'm struggling."

He heard a litany of - "Everyone is safe. You're on Earth in Argentina. You can stand down. It's safe to stand down."

Keith felt movement, he was upright all of a sudden, surrounded by a safe scent.

"Hold on, baby, hold on." was said urgently. Keith squeezed his eyes shut as the safe scent disappeared, making his skin crawl. He battled with the deafening sound of the blast that happened so long ago until the scent returned and the bed dipped beside him once more.

"Here, have a drink."

But, Keith succumbed to the flashback. He was falling again through the acrid scent of smoke and fire. He had dispensed the enemy soldier - a lucky puncturing stab that severed a main artery - and staggered up to his feet, taking in the destruction around him. A perfectly normal town turned into an unrecognizable hellscape. 

"Baby."

He panted. Keith had to think. They already knew he was there. Word would get back to the main ship. No use hiding Black, he called for the lion. There he could get in touch with the team with or without collective consciousness. He staggered across the ashen world turned eerily silent, eyeing the skies for incoming. He felt relief when Black appeared as a dot in the sky, alone, quickly accelerating towards him. The winds soared as the lion neared, its massive maw yawning open - Keith leapt inside, while it was in mid-flight. He scrambled for the cockpit, mind synched with Black and his team as he instructed - _'Allura, abort the rescue and return to your mission. Everyone, stay on target - I'm taking a detour-'_

"Have you had añapa before? I've never had it before. Try it?"

He had to strap-in and get to that command center before it was levelled - decimation could happen at *any* moment and there were so many civilians in the area _-_

"Have a drink, Kitten. Everyone is safe. Our three grown up kids are very safe."

His three kids? There's a cup that brushed his lips which was so jarring and nonsensical. Keith reeled back in confusion but he sensed Lance's scent which was very anxious. He kept insisting with that cup so Keith took a sip, wanting to assuage that scent. It was cool and sweet, unlike the tacky bitterness that had settled in the back of his throat. That gritty flavor from the past disappeared. He paused and took several more swallows. The act of drinking was so far from the flashback reel in his head... 

The here and now was solidifying around him, the decimated town taking a back seat. There was a sheet over his lap. He tugged it higher as he mulled the drink's taste. The flavor was interesting. He never had that before. He idly assessed the simple novelty of it while the cobwebs in his head cleared away. The torrential storm settled.

Keith breathed the way he was instructed in his old therapy lessons. He realized that both of Lance's arms were settled loosely around him, one partly supporting the cup. He looked at his bondmate, seeing his expression clouded in concern.

"With me?" he asked.

Keith nodded.

Lance ran a soothing hand down his cheek and over his limbs, quietly petting him for some time.

Keith mindlessly polished off the drink and stared at his bondmate, feeling lost. The stinging pain in his palm blossomed, reminding him of his actions. All of his muscles clenched tight in abject terror and remorse so strong that he felt he would be carried away by it. He had only damaged pieces left. 

"Did I hurt you?" he asked on the verge of sobbing. He eyed Lance's chest and arms in search of damning evidence. He was still naked though wrapped in sheets.

Lance kissed him gently on the lips. "No, baby. You grabbed the glass on the table and shattered it, then grabbed a chunk of it. The whole thing was in your palm. All you did was scare the shit out of me and cut your hand in the process."

Keith nodded, swallowing down his contempt for himself. "I'm sorry."

"Forgiven. C'mon. No wallowing." said Lance, not giving him a chance to further assess the situation.

Lance stood up, holding on to the sheets around his waist and offered his hand, "Let's get you to the bathroom, your hand's a mess."

At his words, Keith's whole palm pulsed in throbbing pain. He brought the injury up and stared at the red soaked cotton; his fingers, which still had a firm grip on the makeshift bandage, were bloodied, too. Lance took his uninjured hand and pulled him to his feet. 

"I'm sorry." Keith said, feeling broken. 

"Things will be okay, I promise." Lance soothed as he guided him to the bathroom. He had him sit on the lidded toilet and helped Keith into a hotel robe (Keith hadn't even realized he was still naked.). Lance threw on a robe as well then sank to his knees in front of Keith and gave him another kiss.

"Kitten," he eyed Keith, solemnly, "I need to get the floor's first aid kit. Is it safe for me to leave you alone right now?"

Keith nodded, looking down at the bathroom tiles, "Yeah. I'm here solid," he said.

"Okay, I'll be right back. Don't move."

 _You can just leave me here and never come back, I would understand_ , said Keith's head but he kept the thought to himself. He knew for sure that Lance wouldn't react well to that. He watched his bondmate hurry out the door then went back to studying the tiles. What the fuck was all this that just happened? He'd never had episodes where he tapped out of reality for so long. How could he allow that loss of control? He could've killed Lance.

He shuddered. It could've been the kids...

He sat there numb, waiting.

By the time Lance returned, Keith had his head in his hands, not noticing the smearing blood or the prickling pain from slivers of glass in his palm. Lance sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Keith and took his hand, carefully pulling away the soiled pillowcase. He grabbed a container from the first aid kit he had set aside and uncapped the treatment. Keith watched him apply the antibiotic paste that would dry and bind to the glass penetrating his skin then peel off taking the blood and splinters with it.

"I feel like I'm unraveling." He whispered as he watched Lance work.

Lance glanced up and asked,"How long?" 

Keith shook his head, understanding his question. "Out of fucking nowhere. The thing with Clara and then Shiro... I thought I was fine until I wasn't. None of this regular life stuff should get me like this."

Lance snorted, eyes back on the injury, "Says who? You don't make the rules."

Keith didn't answer, he watched his bondmate carefully peel the dried paste off his skin. The shards stung as they were stripped away.

"Kitten," Lance continued, quietly but firmly, "I should've heard from you, not Clara. You know the drill," Lance chided as he ran a restitcher over Keith's gash. "Big or small, we tell each other if something is not normal." 

Keith nodded, feeling the guilt sink deep in the pit of his stomach, "I know..." 

In hindsight, it was so stupid. He should've raised it with his bondmate. The issue was now so much worse than it had to be. Keith studied his alpha, feeling undeserving of his care. Lance was clean and pristine unlike Keith who was flawed and deep down was barely human or humane. The _decisions_ he had made in his past. It made sense that it was coming back to mess up the life he managed to make for himself.

He sniffled, angrily wiping the tears that escaped.

Lance set the bandage he was holding aside and wrapped his arms around Keith's waist in a bracing hold.

"Nobody died. We move forward and we try to do better."

Keith snorted as he sniffled again, "We? This is on me."

"Blame doesn't solve anything."

"It's my fault." Keith insisted.

Lance hauled him closer, pulling him toward the edge of the toilet. His eyes were steely as he countered,"Is it your fault that the world you were born into was fucked up and you tried to make it better? It's the fault of the universe landing on us. The universe gave us our scars, you don't own that."

"Don't give me that, Lance. I _know_ better."

Lance frowned, looking at him. His gaze then softened as he teased, his smile intimate and lop-sided, "Oh no. Kitten turns out to be a mere mortal that messes up sometimes like the rest of us."

Keith did not want to feel heartened, yet a tiny quirk of a smile upset one corner of his lips. How many times in his life had his bondmate challenged his point of view? A million memories bubbled up to the surface where Lance was advising him or teaching him something. The past was too bright, though, too strong; flashbacks threatened to unmoor him. Again. Keith's smile dropped. His brain wasn't right. What the fuck. Why now? He hung his head and took a deep breath. 

"I want a brain wipe."

"That's probably possible but I don't think it's a good idea."

Another faint smile threatened to lighten Keith's mood. It quickly faltered as he wondered, "How do you fight a battle against yourself? When I'm my own enemy?" 

It felt like a whole other war that ambushed him, catching him completely off guard and unprepared.

His alpha raised the back of Keith's hand to his cheek and rubbed, like a friendly cat. 

"It's like any other big fight, Kitten," he answered, "You get help."

Keith breathed out and let his eyes fall shut. He felt Lance shift and take his injured hand again, wrapping the freshly bound skin in a bandage. His alpha straightened Keith's robe, tucking the sides close together, bundling him up. Keith rather not move ever again. Better to sit still and not be a victim to life.

"I want a kiss."

Keith couldn't bring himself to smile; in slow motion, he leaned forward and kissed Lance's forehead.

"What are you thinking?" Lance wondered.

Keith dared to look at his alpha, immediately ensnared in his gaze. Lance was watching him as if he thought he could read Keith's mind if he only tried hard enough. Keith reached out to pet his thick hair. He had seen Lance's hair crusted in his own blood and sometimes in other people's blood. How do men like them square leading peaceful lives after the kinds of unforgivable things they have done? Keith knew that he would do it again, too.

Time to own up as promised. Confess something he was hoping to resist. "I still don't feel right... I can't just go back to the kids like this."

Lance hesitated. There it was laid out in front of them. Night started with sex and everything normal and now had abruptly shifted to uncertain times ahead. His bondmate simply nodded in agreement. Keith caught the rise in stress in his scent and squeezed his hand as he looked away.

They will have to figure something out. He started thinking about all the moments he had managed to sneak some time to himself. He longed, badly, for being alone with nature; simply sitting still and witnessing the abundance and beauty of life while he was reassured of his insignificance.

"I... need some time alone."

"Baby..." 

Keith heard the dismay in Lance's tone and shook his head, meeting his eyes. "I don't mean right this minute. I just need time to regroup. I need to go somewhere or..." he trailed off not sure where he was going.

Lance's frown deepened, "You don't get to cope with this alone. I deal with it, too, we have-"

"I'm game," Keith interrupted, "Whatever you want. I'm just asking... I just need..." He could never quite articulate how time spent alone calmed his spirits. No people in sight and therefore, no pressure.

Lance sat up on his knees and studied Keith.

"Is this your commune with nature thing?" he asked at last. 

There was no meanness in his teasing smile. He was acting so fucking normal as if Keith having a whole mental episode was no big deal. Keith's eyes threatened to water. He nodded, mutely, and let his bondmate think it through. Lance for the most part was the rational one. No matter how much Keith tried to cultivate that skill, Lance was a natural at it.

"You talking a few hours?" he asked.

Keith bit his bottom lip, "More like a day or two."

Lance took his hand and visibly gathered himself, "I got terms. I'm going to ask for some hard things."

"Yeah." Keith prompted, stifling the dread inside.

"I get final say on location. You give me guardian rights to your biosignature permissions for your length of time away and I'm locking you out of driving. I get to drop in electronically on you and your stream-activity. I get to assess the location and I get to Kitten-proof however I see fit, including a threshold alert if I think it makes sense. You have to keep in touch with me and tell me if things aren't right."

Keith nodded before he could try to think about it and find a reason to rebuff Lance. It was scary to be treated this way. It reinforced that his own sanity and judgement wasn't trustworthy at the moment, but perhaps it was as it should be. His skill set mixed with poor mental state made him extremely dangerous even if others in the same situation would merely be vulnerable. His bondmate had earned his trust long ago so he would trust in his judgement, despite it meaning that he temporarily lost his autonomy. He swallowed his pride. 

Lance pressed multiple soft kisses on his lips. 

"I'm sorry." 

Keith shook his head. His mouth trembled as he said, "I'm the one that's sorry. This wasn't the night I had in mind."

He had dismissed his poor mental state when confronting Shiro at the pier and the worsening signs thereafter. It was no small matter. 

Lance seemed to sense his guilt-trip. "Honey, it's okay. It's all about what you do next."

"I'm too old for a fucking crises." Keith snorted.

"Aw, you're never too old for a crisis." Lance chirped, doing his best impression of the worst life coach ever.

Keith was surprised into a laugh. Right - more proof that his bondmate was behind his kids' silliness. He let Lance tug him until their foreheads touched. 

"I'll find help." Lance promised, "There are so many intergalactic resources we can tap. We'll figure things out."

For now, Lance's presence was enough of a balm. Keith nodded and relied on his bondmate's optimism. He would do the best he could to get through this. Keith was a fighter, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter will include healing. :)


	12. Twelve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith, his sons, and his alpha spend a day at the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise. :) I had not abandoned the story; merely clung to it as survival mechanism for the last few months. It was nice and comforting to work on something familiar. Apologies that the rewrite took so long.

A quiet knock on the front door of the tiny airdrop cabin came as a surprise. It was Saul, hanging onto the straps of a backpack he carried, a lopsided crown of white orchids adorned his hair. His knee-length overalls were caked in mud, revealing mosquito-bitten legs. Glimpses of his red sneakers could be seen under an encrusted layer of muck and sand that hinted at the journey he took to find his mom. 

Saul stuffed his hands in his pockets; several colorful bracelets lined his sun-reddened skin, a few were adorned with charms including one of the Blade of Marmora. He had the barest hint of a smile on his lips, ready to either hang his head for a lecture or burst forward for a hug depending on Keith's reaction to him at his doorstep.

Keith held back for a moment, eyeing his son.

The notifications set up by Lance should have triggered an alert the instant Saul crossed the configured boundaries. His son could not have possibly evaded detection unless he had some serious tech... like the One World bracelet Keith kept in the glove compartment of his car. Keith crossed his arms and stepped out and took a look around at the lonely seashore, only seeing his son's shoe prints on the sand. He shifted, resisting the urge to hustle Saul inside and fuss over the state he was in.

"How did you get here?"

"I took the airbus."

Keith's eyes narrowed. 

"Did you get permission to do that?" he asked. 

Generally, Saul was allowed to take the bus between school and home with Shiro or friends. Otherwise, he wasn't allowed to take the bus without permission, much less take the three necessary for the two hour trip to this particular beach. 

Saul blushed and shook his head. "No."

They stared at each other. Unlike his siblings, Saul could withstand prolonged uncomfortable silences without growing nervous and defensive (Clara) or blurting a confession (Shiro). They would spend the rest of the evening staring at each other if Keith didn't prod him for some answers.

"Does papi know you're here?"

Saul shifted his weight from one foot to the other just once. 

"No..." Saul scratched his nose and confessed, "I borrowed your bracelet...."

Meaning once Lance realized he was missing, he would not be able to track him down through his comm's coordinates. Keith raised an eyebrow, eyes going from the bracelet to Saul's expression. So far he snuck out of the house and swiped Keith's tech to evade detection...

"How did you find me?"

Saul looked away and answered, "I saw that papi's car trip history had a stop at Cayo Jutias and he had an e-receipt for an airlift cabin." Saul shifted again, frowning, "I looked for a far away spot I thought you might like."

Keith kept staring at his son. He did indeed have the airlift company drop the cabin in an isolated area of the beach. The path on foot would be rough. His son must have navigated through several kilometers of dead mangroves. He clearly wasn't prepared for the trip and he could've easily ended up lost, sunburnt and alone while wearing tech that made it harder to find him. 

Keith felt the familiar stir of worry, anger and fear that would trigger his temper concerning his kids. He wanted to shake his son down over his foolish actions; the area went on for kilometers and was not maintained. No one knew where he was and Saul could've lost his comm. There was nowhere to shelter from the heat and sun, a shorebreak could've killed him or seriously injured him. The...enthusiastic...lecture was on the tip of Keith's tongue only tempered by recent history. His instinctive response nearly made his older son jump off a pier not too long ago... 

Keith breathed out. 

He found himself asking,"Why did you come looking for me?"

Saul's face instantly pinched. He dug his hands further into his pockets.

"You were supposed to come back...papi wouldn't say when you were coming back," he added, soft voice cracking slightly. His eyes welled with unshed tears.

Ah.

Keith stepped closer to his son, uncrossing one arm to sweep Saul's long bangs away from his face. His son's eyes resembled a saffron flower starting from the overall lilac shade down to the scattered red-orange that matched the flecks in Saul's irises. Shiro had pointed it out once (their heads knocked together from how close he had been staring at his brother declaring he had heterochromia while comparing him to his flora reference panels. Saul had given him a wet willy when he looked away and made a run for it). 

Keith met his son's gaze with a steady, solemn look. "I would never, ever, ever abandon you. Not in a million years. If there is breath in me left, I'll always come back to you no matter what even if it takes some time."

Saul sniffled and dropped his forehead on Keith's chest, looping his arms around Keith, fingers digging into his back. Keith threw his own arms around his son.

"You promise?" Saul mumbled.

"I promise, baby."

He felt his son take a deep shuddering breath. Keith held on to him a little tighter, mentally committing to his promise.

"Let's take care of those scratches." Keith said, eventually.

Saul nodded, "Okay."

Keith stood aside and pointed next to the entryway under the awning. "Take the shoes and socks off and leave them there."

He had rented a truly tiny airlift cabin. One step inside was the kitchen sink to the left and toilet-shower cubby on the right. Three more steps led to the convertible table turned bed. Saul slipped inside, wriggling off his bookbag and pulling out a small kalimba instrument that he had brought with him which was no surprise to Keith. The bigger surprise would be if he didn't have some kind of musical instrument or stuffed animal on his person at all times. 

"Am I in trouble?" Saul asked, wringing his wrists after setting his kalimba aside.

"Mm.." Keith answered cryptically and hid a smile as he asked, "Did you bring spare clothes?"

Saul nodded.

"Good. Go take a shower. You can use the beach towel that's in there," Keith replied and gave his son a vaguely chastising look when he said, "Keep my bracelet on."

Saul blushed at the reminder of his 'borrowed' item and nodded, quickly yanking out his spare clothes and squeezing by his mom for the shower.

Keith fetched the rental's first aid kit from the storage compartment under the bed and sat on the thin mattress, waiting for Saul. He really had to catch up with Lance soon; it was only a matter of time before he realized Saul was gone if he hadn't noticed already. Although, he would've alerted Keith by now if he knew...right? Lance had hidden Clara's health issues from Keith to protect him after all. Did his bondmate think Keith was too fragile? 

He closed his eyes and breathed, not knowing if he was simply blowing things out of proportion. If only there was a magic pill that would fix everything so he could feel confident that he was sound of mind. Then he could go back home and move on.

He composed himself as he heard the shower switch off and had a wink ready for his son for when he reappeared. His youngest stepped out in his quiet unassuming way, wearing shorts and a shirt with his band logo that his brother had gifted him. Keith moved to sit on the floor, happy to take care of his son's injuries as Saul scooted around him and sat back down on the bed.

The shower got rid of all the grime but there were a mass of scratches and bug bites left. As Keith sorted through the first aid kit, he felt an odd sense of deja-vu to the night before when Lance took care of his cuts. He smiled as he soothed the bug bites and reddened skin with ointment. Smiled more so when Saul started playing a tune on the kalimba. Simply taking care of his son - fresh proof that Keith can be a positive force for the ones he loved - made life better. 

Keith looked up and patted Saul's knee. 

"All good now."

Saul offered a quick smile, setting the kalimba aside. His eyes drifted down to Keith's hand.

"You're hurt, too." he said, smile fading.

Keith had to stop himself from jerking his hand out of sight. Small hands held Keith's palm up and guitar callused fingertips traced the newly scarred skin. They looked at each other as Keith debated how to answer the inevitable question.

Instead, Saul cleared his throat and said, "Sana, sana, culito de rana-"

Keith grinned broadly at his son repeating an old Spanish ditty that Lance recited when the kids were little to soothe away all manner of kiddie injuries. 

"-si no te sana hoy, te sana mañana."

"I'm better already," Keith swore. 

His son was adorable. That swell of happiness inside over Saul was quickly ambushed by old agonizing torment. The old question -  _ Why _ ?! - screamed through Keith. He swallowed hard and jerked his gaze down to his lap. Why didn't Saul inherit Keith's genes properly like Shiro and Clara? He should have a lifespan closer to Galra than human. Keith squeezed his eyes shut, imagining his son aging while his immediate family kept their youth. It was more than he could bear. He did not want to outlive his child.

Keith choked down a sudden whimper. His son accepted his fate with a smile and a shrug and so should Keith. In fact he may have known before Keith, courtesy of an eventful excursion with Clara and Shiro when he was nine years old and met a girl named Hz-tl. Keith struggled to push past the grief; if he didn't live for the moment he would risk missing the moments worth living. He looked back up at Saul.

His son cocked his head, eyes darting across Keith's face as if catching all the nuances. The same way he watched Keith when he imparted the terrible news long ago. His youngest could probably see right through to Keith's quintessence.

Saul took a short sharp breath then asked, "Is there any ice cream?" 

Keith laughed, feeling the dark mood break. His son was sunshine. "No baby, but, I know who can bring us some."

He sat next to Saul who leaned heavily against his side.

His son looked up, smiling, "It's okay."

What did he mean by that? Keith couldn't handle that. He swallowed roughly again and tried to scrape himself together enough to speak without crying.

"I think it's time you take the bracelet off," he whispered, changing the subject. Keith's voice grew stronger as he spoke, "Let's call papi."

"Could we call him later?" Saul asked, tugging the bracelet off and handing it to Keith.

Keith smiled. He triggered the bracelet configuration panel and turned off the tech. Almost immediately, his comm sent a notification of a perimeter breach.

"We should call him now. You don't want papi to worry, do you?"

Saul bit his lip and shook his head, albeit reluctantly. On cue, Keith's communicator chimed indicating an incoming call from Lance. He answered. 

Lance's worried face materialized. "Kitten. Everything okay?"

Almost immediately he did a double take, eyes going wide. "Saul! What?!" Lance stood up and hurried out of the kitchen, towards Saul's room, "How're you there? You just started playing guitar a few minutes ago! I can  _ hear _ you playing!" 

Keith could hear his bondmate try a doorknob and eyed his son who was studiously focused on the kalimba he had on his lap. 

"It's a simulator..." Saul volunteered.

"Oh?" said Lance; he fixed a withering stare on Saul as he tested the simulator, "Saul."

'Hi papi!' said the simulator app in Saul's voice.

"Come out here, please."

'Is it okay if I finish practicing first?' chirped the simulator.

"No."

'I'm in the bathroom. I'll be out soon!' replied the app at the same time that Saul's comm pinged an alert. 

Keith raised an eyebrow and gestured for the communicator which Saul, now beet red, immediately provided. The notification had transcribed the simulator conversation and warned of potential discovery. Before Keith said anything, another notification popped up on Saul's comm; a message from Shiro.

_ You are NOT in the bathroom, liar! What's going on?? _

Keith had turned on gatekeeping monitoring on Shiro's communications, yet he did  **not** receive a notification for the message meaning his child was getting around his punishment. Why were ALL of Keith's kids sneaky delinquents?!

He sent a visual request from Saul's phone and glared at Shiro the moment the screen materialized.

"Ahh! Mami!" Shiro yelped, jumping back in stunned horror.

"I'm sorry, Papi," said Saul to Keith's projected screen of Lance.

A standoff of sorts occurred where both parents glowered at the respective child currently staring back at them from a screen.

"Wait a minute, hold on," said Shiro, eyebrows slamming down as he craned to look past Keith. Seconds later, Shiro disappeared from Keith's viewpanel and reappeared on the screen showing Lance.

"Saul?! What are you doing there! You're not supposed to sneak out without me! Did you go find mami all by yourself!? You could've died! How did you find him? We're grounding you! OW!" Shiro rubbed the back of his smacked head and swung around to glare at Lance, "Papi!"

"Yeah? You got something to say?" said Lance who was clearly in no mood for hijinks.

Shiro was entirely uninterested in challenging his dad while he was that cranky.

"Nope. Fresh out of words." 

He attempted to scurry back into his old room which he and Saul used as a hangout space. The room shared a Jack and Jill bathroom with Saul's bedroom.

Keith called out, "Leave your comm with Lance.  _ Now _ ."

Shiro winced then looked back, whining, "Mamiiii, what if there is an emergency?"

"Such as me burying you alive in the backyard if you don't give me your comm within the next two seconds?" asked Lance, gesturing for Shiro to hand him his communicator.

Shiro gawked, instantly forgetting his own cautious retreat. "You weren't even mad at me, you're mad at Saul! You don't even know why mami wants to take my comm!"

Keith's oldest son never did himself any favors with his arguments.

Lance snapped back, "You're right, why  _ does _ mami want me to take your communicator? Hand it to me."

"Here you go!" yelped Shiro, ignoring the question and tossing his comm over to his dad before fleeing the scene.

"Shiro!" 

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose then took a deep breath and held it. His way of cooling off enough to focus. He was calm and no-nonsense when he fixed his attention on their youngest once again.

Saul recoiled from the attention, hunching in on himself a little and ducking his head.

"I'm sorry, papi." He said, scooting even closer to Keith. 

Lance glanced at Keith, not liking his lack of reaction which felt like implicit support of their son's actions. His attention swung back to their youngest child. "We're going to have a serious talk, Saul. I'm on my way there."

"Bring ice cream," said Keith, surprising himself.

Lance's eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?"

"Bring ice cream," said Keith, warming up to the idea, "And Shiro. And swimwear. Maybe a tent for an overnight stay. I would like that. All of us together." 

Lance studied Keith in silence, a flicker of both disapproval and worry in his gaze. 

"What is the weather like?" Lance asked.

A coded question harking back to their time at war.  _ What is your condition? _

"Calm and clear."

Lance stared at him speculatively for a moment before snorting.

"I'm charging you for the beach pass." he said and promptly cut the transmission.

Keith looked down at his son. He felt an awful pang inside knowing that the help he needed would likely take him away from his kids for a time. His kids had no fault in Keith's problems but they had to pay the price anyway. He felt some fear, too. That maybe they would grow so accustomed to his absence that their relationship would grow distant. But, that was good in a way. If something happened to him, they would recover.

He noticed the crown of white orchids that Saul had discarded on the window sill and reached for it. His son grinned as Keith carefully untied an orchid and slid the flower in his hair.

"I love you, Saul." Keith said. 

He felt a breath-sucking tightness in his chest. Oh no, this again. He pushed down the fears and thoughts before they fully formed. The cold truth over his son's fate was simply too much. Worse than anything. Disturbed his very core. Keith tried not to picture his youngest child rapidly aging before his very eyes.

His son breathed out almost as if letting go of a weary sigh.

"I love you, mami," he smiled.

\--- 

By the time Lance's jet car appeared on the coastline, Keith and Saul were on their fourth episode of an action-adventure stream. They were laid out on beach blankets over the sand under the cabin's extended awning within a bug repellent field. Lance's car skimmed over water, the hovering field effects changing from white to blue as the car reached the sandy shore. 

The moment the car came to a stop, Shiro came charging out, stalking towards them and landing by his brother.

"This is  _ NOT _ normal," he declared, "Why are we beach camping? Is this some kind of trap?" he eyed his mom, "Are you gonna make us count every grain of sand or something?"

"That's a good idea," said Keith just as Lance made an appearance and pulled a heavy bag from the cargo area of the car. 

He carried it over to Shiro and dropped it, causing a plume of sand to shoot up, "Sort the tent out."

"Papi," whined Shiro, "[Why are you treating me like this]?"

"[Because you're grounded. Why are you grounded]?" Lance said in a monotone way that made Keith suspect he had been strategically tormenting Shiro with the question for their entire trip. 

Shiro paled and wordlessly reached for the camper equipment, but Lance had already moved on, he wagged an accusing finger from Keith to Saul, "I need an explanation for this. Last I remember," he stared very sternly at their youngest who smiled sheepishly, "we don't reward lying or running away from home-," he then looked back at Keith, expression incredulous, "-with a relaxing day on the beach!"

"I know. He was scared that I wasn't coming back. I'm making this one exception," Keith replied.

Lance paused, his eyes sweeping back over to Saul.

"Get the tent up, Shiro." said Lance, somehow aware that behind him, Shiro had stopped working on the tent. He gestured for Saul to stand up which he did immediately then nervously bent one arm to clutch his opposite elbow as he looked at his dad.

"You were next to mami when the perimeter alarm triggered. It should've detected you long before that. Why was that not the case?"

Saul's voice was just above a whisper as he confessed, "I had mami's work bracelet...I took it from his car."

"Mami's tech is off limits."

Saul nodded.

After staring at his son, Lance burst, exasperated, "We don't make rules up for the fun of it. Sneaking off like that could've put you in danger or got you seriously hurt and that bracelet that you  _ stole _ \- would've made it very hard to find you. You were lucky that something terrible didn't happen."

"I'm sorry, papi." said Saul, "I won't do it again."

"What should you have done instead?"

Saul seemed to be at a loss for a moment. He looked around as if in search for an answer, "Call mami?"

Lance looked reluctantly amused, "Yes, that would've been a better way to handle it. You could have also come talk to me."

Saul bit his lip, his gaze had grown mulish. 

"You told us mami went away for me-time, but he didn't come home from work first. He  _ always _ does before me-time vacation," Saul reasoned, "you weren't acting normal either and you wouldn't say when mami was coming back. I had to find out the truth for myself..."

Sometimes, their youngest threw curveballs that left Keith and Lance reeling. Shiro froze again, this time staring at his brother. Lance's eyes narrowed as his body language shifted to something more serious. He lectured his son.

"Far from worth it, Saul. You put yourself in danger without understanding the gravity of your decision. You had a much simpler and safer solution."

"Papi, I was okay. I  _ am _ okay." Saul insisted, quietly.

Keith noticed a flicker of real irritation in Lance's expression with which he sympathised. At any other time, Keith would've been the one telling their son off (while actually upset instead of waiting to be calm...). 

"You were lucky. Look, nature doesn't care what it does to you. The  _ bracelet tech- _ " 

Their son winced at his dad's disapproving tone. Lance continued, "- cloaked you from the very tools we would rely on to find you. It's a race against time when bad things happen and every step you took made it that much harder to beat that race."

Saul's mouth worked as if he wanted to argue further but instead he looked away, embarrassed.

"You're very grounded," Lance continued, "No band time for two weeks." 

Saul did not respond apart from staring steadfastly at the sand below.

"Saul."

Saul nodded, acknowledging without looking up at Lance, "Si, papi."

After a long, heavy silence, Lance sighed. He got down on his knees in front of his son and waited patiently for him to look up. When he did, Lance smiled sympathetically and offered, "Simply talking instead of jumping straight to a rash decision is usually the right thing."

That's a concept  _ Keith _ still had trouble with...

Saul bristled, his soft voice cracking, "But, mami always comes back when he says he will and he didn't this time. He  _ didn't _ come back."

It seemed to be the sticking point that had frightened their youngest and was now filling Keith up with guilt. He held back, allowing Lance to finish his piece.

Lance pulled him into a hug, "Baby, I know that scared you but all you had to do was talk to me about it. Things aren't always as they seem."

Saul held his dad tightly and nodded. The second he glanced at his mom, Keith reached out and stole him away from dad to squeeze the life out of him and reassure him. Lance knew better than to interfere. Instead, he focused on Shiro.

"Tent," Lance prompted, looking bored.

"Why can't I get some kind of exemption?" groused Shiro, "I was emotionally compromised, too!"

Lance pounced immediately, "I know what Saul did and why which is more than I can say about your situation. I don't know why  _ you _ are grounded and I'm running out of patience. What did you do, Shiro?"

"Pa- Ahh!" No one was surprised when Shiro stumbled over a tent component and fell into the tent shell that snapped closed around him, swallowing him up like a venus fly trap. Lance, long used to saving his oldest son from all manner of dire situations, rescued him from its bowels and dropped him safely on his feet. 

He took a step back and continued as if nothing happened, "I'm gonna go into that sad excuse of a cabin to make all of us a very late lunch. When I come back out, [that will be your last chance to tell me in your own words why you're grounded. If I have to hear it from mami, you're triple grounded. Do you understand me]?"

Shiro very suddenly looked on the verge of tears, "Si, papi."

Lips trembling, he watched Lance grab a smaller duffel bag he brought along and head into the cabin. Shiro dropped down on the sand, tears flowing down his cheeks. Saul hurried over to his brother and sat cross-legged next to him, their sides touching as he sniffled. 

The guilt rose like bile in the back of Keith's throat; his sons sought each other out when things weren't going well which started long ago when they witnessed Keith's over the top arguments with Clara. 

"Papi's gonna kill me! He's not gonna talk to me after this," said Shiro, completely distraught, "He spent so much time protecting me and it turns out I'm nothing more than a dirty omega slut not worth-"

"You're not!" argued Saul just as Keith hissed, " _ Shiro. _ "

This was the second time Shiro had referred to himself that way in Keith's presence. He kept talking, voice cracked from panicked grief, "He's gonna hate me _so_ _much_."

"No, he's not!" said Saul, frowning deeply at his brother.

Keith closed in on his sons and tucked Saul to his side. He then took Shiro's hand and squeezed, just now realizing how much his child was poisoned by Earth's sexist notions. Keith spent a lifetime defying Earth's stupid rules for his dynamic only to discover his son was falling prey. 

He met Shiro's eyes as he said, "Me and your dad want you and your sex parts to be safe and happy and healthy, that's all." 

A hitched breath and a laugh escaped Shiro as Saul looked on in surprise.

"I just..." Shiro sniffled, expression dropping again. He confessed as if it pained him, "I want to be a good person." 

His concern broke Keith's heart and pissed him off at the same time.

"Shiro, you  _ are _ good," Keith said, "Don't let anyone shame you for not behaving according to their world view. I am  _ proud _ of you. People's opinion on what you do with your body is their problem not yours. Leave the slut business to them."

"But papi wi-"

"All of those injustices you rail about and those convictions you say you have?  _ Believe _ in them. And give your dad some credit."

Keith gave his youngest a squeeze and smiled down at him, "You too. Have a little more faith in us."

Saul scrubbed the corner of his eye and asked quietly, "Mami... why are you really here?"

Keith smiled and gave his child a gentle pat on the cheek. It seemed one son had trouble sticking to his guns while the other couldn't be deterred.

"I will tell you soon, I promise," 

His response drew Shiro's attention.

"Wasn't this just one of your me-time-with-nature trips?" he asked.

"Well, yes..."

Shiro frowned, his eyebrows creasing with worry.

"Why else did..." he trailed off when Lance stepped out of the cabin carrying a plate of sandwiches. His stress scent skyrocketed. 

They watched Lance spread a picnic blanket neatly over the sand then place the plate in the center. He sat down and gave Shiro a long look. Shiro virtually shrivelled under the cool stare.

He squirmed, eyes welling with unshed tears. He swallowed a few times then whispered, "I-"

"Shiro," said Keith. 

His son had already gone through so much. It was enough. He turned to Lance and laid a hand on his arm, smiling.

"What he is trying to say is that all of your omegas made big mistakes this week," his smile grew bigger when Lance's lips quirked. For once, Keith found a way with words that diffused a situation. Yay.

He gestured towards Saul with a quick flick of his chin, "This one we already established snuck away and broke the rules because he was afraid that mami ran away," he smiled at Saul, "which is ridiculous and would never happen."

"This other one... " he winked at Shiro.

If Keith had to cheat and use his and Lance's personal experiences in defense of their son then he would do it.

"...handled his feelings as well as his mom did when he was his age. He broke a heart like his mom did." 

He ignored his sons' curious looks as he locked eyes with Lance, allowing the regret and sorrow from that old self-inflicted wound to resurface.

"Shiro sought out intimate experiences to cope with feeling hurt... does that remind you of anyone?" 

Lance seemed to freeze in place, his gaze lingering on Keith before landing heavily on Shiro. Keith understood his bondmate's sudden turmoil, they had a rough time protecting their son from the societal effects of precocious heat.

Keith's chest swelled with pride when their son spoke up, voice shaky and barely above a whisper but there and honest.

"Papi... I lied and I rigged our security system to do it... so... so, I could sleep around when I shouldn't have. Camilo won't talk to me. I'm really sorry."

Keith could virtually see all of Lance's muscles tense. His scent grew stressed. Keith squeezed his arm and exchanged looks with him.  _ Careful _ . 

His bondmate took several deep breaths and released each slowly. 

"What are you sorry for?" he asked, his tone revealing nothing.

Shiro, in his usual manner, answered in the worst way possible. He wrung his wrists and babbled, "I'm sorry I didn't even know them! Camilo hates me, I'm sorry. I made everyone mad. I'm sorry."

Saul's eyes were wide as saucers as he swivelled them back towards dad.

"Wh- you didn't  _ know _ them?? Did you say 'them'?!  _ Shiro _ !" Lance sputtered as Keith intervened, "Already dealt with everything, I promise." 

He also beat his bondmate to the punch over Saul when Lance suddenly turned towards their youngest.

"He already knows all this and you know he's heard much worse," Keith reminded, worried over the toll on Saul at how frequently he was asked to leave because of a mature conversation. "Let him stay."

He  _ trusted _ Lance to trust him and react in some salvageable manner. He  _ relied _ on his patience. 

"Keith!" hissed Lance.

"Kitten," Keith corrected, smiling at his alpha's loud huff. 

His eyes fell on Shiro again who had paled. Lance opened his mouth then hesitated, clearly struggling with himself. Keith tried not to smile too broadly; poor Lance and the crap his family threw at him.

"Look," Lance managed, at last, "I'm not at all in a good place over...the sex stuff," Keith had a feeling that Lance was actively blocking out the very idea as he spoke, "so let's set that conversation aside.  _ However _ , this whole  _ lying _ thing! No, worse than lying! Deception! What have we-"

Keith grinned. Lance had just shrugged off the very crux of their son's torment. Their relationship would be fine in the aftermath of such a touchy conversation. 

"Papi!" Shiro wailed and threw himself on Lance, nearly knocking him over.

"told- whoa..." Lance reflexively caught his son and scowled down at him, "hold on, I'm mad at you!"

"You love me!" Shiro cried.

Lance looked put out and utterly perplexed, "When was that in question?"

Shiro bawled his eyes out as Saul launched himself on his dad, too. That was cute. Might as well join them. Keith walked over on his knees and landed kisses on his bewildered alpha.

"I don't understand what is happening right now," Lance said between kisses, "I was trying to have a serious talk-"

Keith replied,"Just focus on your family's hero worshipping."

He felt Lance's grudging smile, "Hero worshipping, huh?"

Keith smiled, running a thumb down the old scar that was still visible across Lance's lips.

"Yeah."

His bondmate seemed to give up, chuckling to himself. He gave Keith a kiss then hugged each son who clung to either side of him. He rubbed Shiro's back until his crying settled down to goofy smiling and sniffling.

Lance shelved his lecture for later, stating,"You're a handful, you know that?"

"Me?! I get straight A's!" said Shiro, easy and care-free.

"I composed my school's fight song." Saul countered.

Shiro's eyes narrowed, seeing the competition for what it was. He sat up. "I tutor seniors."

"I play guitar with papi," Saul smiled.

"I'm in the debate team that always beats papi's old rival school." 

"I eat everything papi puts on my plate."

Shiro scowled. "I stay healthy by boxing which papi likes me to do."

"I train in martial arts like mami which papi likes me to do."

"Need I remind you that you're both grounded for disobedience?" asked Lance.

Shiro sat up, not hearing a word Lance said, "I yell and take down bullies!"

"I am not surprised that you think yelling is good! I don't yell," said Saul, suppressing a mischievous laugh, "because I'm tall enough for my voice to carry!"

"I'm gonna kick your butt!" shouted Shiro, "Come here!"

Shiro lunged for his brother and gave chase when Saul took off in the direction of the shore. They left a dusting of sand in their wake which Keith brushed off Lance and himself. He sat next to his bondmate and scooted until they were tucked together. The kids were running wildly down the beach, colliding together and rough-housing only to be knocked over by the incoming tide.Their whoops and laughter barely audible over the sound of the crashing waves.

"Not sure how I feel about them having such a good time." said Lance wryly.

Keith smiled, "Let them have their fun."

"Since when has 'fun' been part of 'grounded.'"

"You're right." Keith replied though he made no move to rectify the situation. He suggested, "You can make them detail your car with toothbrushes later."

Lance smirked, "I notice you said me as in not you."

Keith nodded, "I want to leave on a good note."

He felt Lance's eyes on him. "You don't know where you're going yet or when."

Keith nudged his alpha,"Spring Eternal. They know me best, medically-speaking. The sooner I go the better."

Lance pulled him closer by the waist.

"...yeah," he said as if he had reached the same conclusion. He smiled down at Keith, squinting against the sun glare, "I miss you already, Kitten."

Keith was glad that his bondmate couldn't catch his pheromonal scent. He was such a smitten pushover, happy to be warm and cuddled.

"Are you missing me or my special omega parts?" Keith smirked.

"I'm sorry, are your special omega parts separate from your personhood?"

He felt Lance's hand squeeze his side. Keith grinned, "Not that I'm aware of."

"Let me know if that changes." said Lance and stood, brushing the sand off his lap. 

He very calmly bent over to grab Keith's ankles. Keith fell back as Lance started dragging him down the beach.

"Care to explain what you're doing?" said Keith, making no effort to stop him.

"We're gonna have fun, too. You're getting in the water. Nobody goes to the beach without getting in the water. That includes you."

"Not on my watch," deadpanned Keith.

"Uh huh, on your watch."

"I'm not interested."

"Nobody asked."

Keith waited until Lance had his hopes up at success before he curled himself forward and reached out to grab his bondmate's wrists. He twisted as he pushed one foot against Lance's elbow and the other behind his knee, breaking his hold and taking him down. 

"Ahh!" yelped Lance.

Keith made a run for it and laughed when he heard his sons join their dad's sudden pursuit.

He led them on a silly chase, running in wide circles around their camping area. He dropped under Shiro who had taken a flying leap and grinned wickedly as he tweaked his son's flight path, throwing him even further. 

"Ma-ahhhhh!" screeched Shiro, sailing right past his brother. Naturally, Lance caught him mid-flight.

Their youngest was charging forward, intent on knocking Keith down which Keith parried and made into a game of shoving sand down Saul's shirt any time the opportunity presented itself. 

"Mami!" Saul giggled, breathlessly. He was forced to scramble back. 

"Yes?" Keith asked as his son tore his sandy shirt off and shook himself out like a dog.

Lance flanked Keith's side while Shiro closed in from behind. Keith smirked, daring them to come at him.

"Get him!" shouted Lance, not unlike a gangster, commanding his fellow thugs. 

Keith sparred with both his sons at once, keeping a keen eye out for Lance who was an unpredictable opponent. He evaded Saul's blitz of moves and knocked him down, using his own momentum against him. 

"Too open!" Keith advised, bracing his son's arm to slow his drop, "Keep your eyes on your target when you kick."

Before his youngest could fully hit the ground, Keith had ducked past his alpha's lunge and had pivoted away from his older son's reach. He threw his fists up, engaging Shiro in a series of lightning fast boxing jabs, forcing him on the defensive. 

"Too slow! But getting faster!" Keith observed, "Good!" he said in reference to Shiro's stance.

Another kick came flying towards Keith's midsection which he checked with his arm.

"Very good!" said Keith to Saul. He snuck another peek at Lance who was hanging back, a warm smile on his lips while he watched. Keith pounced, bodily tackling his bondmate, knocking them both down. Lance went down without much fuss. They stared at each other from inches away.

"Too ugly," Keith purred, bracketing his bondmate's head with his forearms. Lance's gaze tracked Keith's lips and swept up to lock eyes. He gave Keith a lopsided smirk as Keith tangled his fingers in Lance's hair. Heat spread across Keith's chest and cheeks. He pulled back and dashed away, feeling both light and irresistibly sexy. 

He was on his feet, ready to run from his kids when all lightness turned to stone.

A mecha war machine the size of a skyscraper materialized over the horizon. It's transmetal frame blocked out the sun. It would be visible to the villages that would fall victim to its radioactive torch fire. Keith could hear nothing but his beating heart.  _ They got us! _ His breath was lost to him and he had just enough time to think,  _ not my kids, I'm so sorry _ . He stumbled towards his children, hoping he could shield them with his body and give them a last mercy. 

The ground rushed towards him as the past twisted and came to life around him. Laughter echoed around him, too. He tried to breathe as he was pelted by sand, aware of the imminent danger. His death would be a blow to the alliance. The only regret he had was over his  _ poor children _ . Why did it have to be this way? 

His body was scooped up. Keith gasped, disoriented by the bright sun and persistent giggling laughter. He was being marched down to the water. Heart beating out of his chest, Keith looked around for the nightmare scene and encountered nothing but clear coast. His ears met the sounds of crashing waves, bird calls, and his kids' excited shouts. Reality came roaring back; he was in  _ Lance' _ s arms. Keith startled and jerked his head towards his bondmate. 

Lance was smiling down at him. 

"Perfect weather, huh?" he asked, softly.

He knew.

"Perfect weather for a dunking!" cackled Shiro as he and Saul tagged along. "You should toss mami into next week!" 

Keith swallowed and tried to be brave, "Weather could be worse," he mumbled.

Lance's smile faltered. He staggered to a stop and it was like his legs gave out on him. He sank down to his knees and hid his face on his bondmate's chest. Keith felt more than heard Lance's ragged inhale and felt the tremor in his arms. Keith's troubles were not a fluke. Maybe Lance hid Clara's health issues because some part of him had noticed something awry with his bondmate. The stresses of life were blasting Keith apart. Keith wrapped his arms around his alpha.

He smiled fondly at Shiro and Saul and started speaking before they could fully process the mood and pheromonal change. He tried to focus on the big picture. No matter what, even if things were askew at the moment, he was still mami, bondmate, and omega. He would be honest about his troubles. His children were old enough.

"Do you remember our discussions on PTSD?" Keith asked his kids.

The spirited mood sank at the abrupt change in direction. It hurt to watch his kids' smiles fade into something more serious and somber. Both sons had looked curiously at Lance before looking back at Keith.

"Post traumatic stress disorder," said Shiro, looking at Keith assessingly, "It's a psychiatric disorder triggered by one or more traumatic events. You and papi suffer from it."

Keith nodded, "Yeah. Papi and I cope with it."

His kids sat down on the white sand alongside them.

"I'm having trouble because of it. I need some help."

Shiro nodded, "Mami, there's plenty of behavioral health centers you could look at. I could help research-"

"Baby," said Keith to get his son's attention. He took a deep breath, still unsettled by his false vision and by the fact that Lance kept his face hidden under Keith's chin and was still shaking. 

"-good therapists..." Shiro trailed off.

"You're going away," realized Saul, expression crumpling.

Keith swallowed. He had cradled the back of his bondmate's head and now reached for his son's hand. "Just for a little while so I can get better."

Shiro was watching from the sidelines and nodded as if he had made up his mind. "Earth wouldn't be the best place for mami to get psychiatric help, I don't think we have any experts or medicine well-suited for half-Galra physiology."

"Could we come with you?" begged Saul. Keith squeezed his hand; he wasn't sure on the logistics but they all had plenty of commitments here on Earth, particularly with work and school. Routine where possible would be better for everyone.

Surprisingly, it was Shiro who answered, "Mami needs to focus on getting better instead of worrying about us," he admonished, giving his brother a soft sympathetic punch on the shoulder.

Lance had at last sat back, smiling gently but not saying anything. Likely still too emotional to speak.

"It's good to identify when you need help and even better when you reach out to get help. Where will you go?" asked Shiro just as Saul burst into tears.

"Saul, it's okay! Mami just wants to get better so he can come back and be here with us."

"I know..." Saul whimpered, shaking his head. It obviously didn't take away from the fact that his mom wasn't going to be around for an unknown amount of time. 

Lance gently swept Keith's bangs away from his eyes then pulled their youngest in and gave him a kiss. 

"We're sorting out the details, Shiro, but it's likely a visit to the Wellspring on Spring Eternal. Your birth planet." Keith answered.

"Cool!" said Shiro.

Keith watched his bondmate and youngest try to get a hold of themselves. He casually started throwing sand at all of them. "You poor babies." 

Shiro smiled and just as casually tossed sand back at Keith.

Their youngest smiled weakly then virtually crawled into Keith's arms, a chuckle or two escaping between his sniffles as mom kept covering him in sand. 

Shiro sat very close to Lance, giving him a smile which his dad returned. It was not enough apparently; he shot up on his knees and threw his arms around his dad's neck, squeezing him tight. Keith felt Lance's body stiffen for a moment.

"It's okay, papi," Shiro murmured. 

"Mami, stop..." said a very sandy Saul.

"Can't help it," said Keith.

They remained piled together on the beach for some time.

\--- 

Keith, Lance, and the kids sat side-by-side on a worn beach blanket, gazes trained up towards the heavens. The lack of artificial light and clear weather meant the skies were ablaze with millions of shimmering stars splayed across the dark canopy of night. They all knew what some of those celestial bodies looked like up close. Keith traveled within the cosmic neighborhood quite often for his day to day work. Now, he supposed he would visit the distant galaxies for a time, uncertain as to when he would come home. 

The night at the beach carried the steady sound of waves breaking across the shore and the occasional low buzz of sand flies ricocheting off the insect repellent field. Even Shiro was lulled to thoughtful serenity by the tranquil rhythms surrounding them. He pointed up to a shooting star. 

"See that? That's probably Clara crashing another junker craft."

Saul  _ mmm-ed _ and propped his arms back, considering his brother's theory. He smiled and answered, "I see two more. No, three! It's like the star showers on Epa-yl when Hz-tl and I kissed." 

Three pairs of eyes grew round. Saul paid them no mind, too busy reaching for his comm which he had left next to his kalimba. He projected the image of a red-eyed little girl sitting among spiral flowers on planet Epa-yl. From what Keith remembered, Saul had given the Eyl child reason to smile. The trip had been eventful.

"We'll be together again someday," Saul gushed,"I'll follow her to the ends of the universe. Any universe, any timeline!" He proceeded to sigh dreamily, "If she's a flower, I'll be a flower, too. I'll grow right beside her so we can reach for the same stars and soak up all the starshine together."

"Okay, that was like two whole years ago! You were nine!" Said Shiro, channeling his sister's over-protectiveness. "When did you even kiss her?!"

Saul cocked his head towards his brother but kept his eyes on the kalimba he had begun to pluck. "When time stopped and nothing else mattered."

"Ugh! Don't be gross." said Shiro, "Do you know how unlikely it is that you will want to be with Hz-tl for the rest of your life? You have a whole idolized version of Hz-tl in your head! Don't put that pressure on you or her!"

Saul smiled broadly, shrugging. "She can be however she likes. I will love her even more!" 

Keith looked over his kids' heads at Lance who had the same stunned expression.

"You're a weird stalker-boy," declared Shiro, prompting his dad to smack him upside the head. Shiro didn't seem to notice, long used to everyone trying to reset him via a good brain rattling.

"Stalker-boy that will always love Hz-tl!" Saul cried out to the heavens.

"Saul!" said Shiro, "You really don't know that. Life doesn't work the way you think it does!" 

Keith barely held back a snort; that was rich considering the source.

"Mami and papi piloted battlecats in a far, far, far away galaxy. They defeated a bajillion year old evil empire even though my friend Veronica said life didn't work that way." 

Keith smirked; their youngest had been spilling bold truths about the galactic wars and non-Terran aliens before the public knew much about it. No one seemed to take him seriously. 

"I think life works however it wants! It doesn't matter what we think about it so I'll think about whatever makes me happy. " He finished with a great big satisfied sigh, "Mami, me and Hz-tl."

Lance was on the opposite side of the kids but Keith was pretty sure that he was chuckling under his breath, too. 

Shiro's nose wrinkled, "You want  _ mami _ living with you?" he said much in the same way he might've said 'you poor, poor child.' 

He shook his head at his brother's enthusiastic nod and looked back up at the sky again.

"Whatever," he dropped onto his back, "That's Clara chasing Alteans for money."

Saul's amused, dreamy smile was firmly back in place as he pointed at a falling star, "Zarkon warriors chasing Clara for the thrill of the hunt."

He leaned close to his brother, their heads lightly knocking together as they exchanged wilder and wilder Clara stories. Keith laid back too, marveling at the fact that he managed to have a life like this after everything else. He remembered his many travels and how he would admire the alien skies whenever the rare chance presented itself. So much beauty...he thought of the stunning landscapes he had seen across a vast breadth of worlds. Earth was no less beautiful.

His kids' narratives became quieter with longer stretches of silence and eventually trailed to nothing as they drifted off to sleep. He watched Lance get up and head into the rental then return shortly, carrying bedding that he tossed into the tent. He winked at Keith before kneeling down by their sons' heads and shaking them gently on their shoulders. 

"Go sleep in the cabin. Mami and I will take the tent." 

The kids were small enough to sleep comfortably on the cabin cot. They didn't put up much of a fight, sitting up and wishing Keith and Lance a goodnight before retiring.

Keith took a slow deep breath while he watched Lance prepare the tent with the bedding (Shiro pitched the tent perfectly despite all of the mini-disasters and grumbling involved). Lance ducked out of it, bringing a blanket with him, and sat near the cabin entrance, his back leaning against a wide wooden post. Keith followed, quickly making a spot for himself between his alpha's spread thighs, facing away and resting his weight against his bondmate's chest. He was immediately hugged from behind and swaddled in the blanket, their gazes trained ahead towards the moon-lit horizon.

Keith felt in tune with his bondmate. For tomorrow... they would not have to tell each other that the next course of action was to keep a normal routine for their kids. They were committed to their lives and responsibilities on Earth. The family would stay while Keith sought help. Still, there were a lot of things they needed to plan out, like how Keith was going to get to Spring Eternal (he was sure Lance would insist on him being escorted). He would have to sort things out for work. They needed to contact the Wellspring so they would be ready for Keith. They - or rather Keith - had to tell their daughter about his situation.

"It feels like the night before a major battle operation."

He felt Lance's soft huff on his shoulder, "Yeah, don't worry about a thing, Kitten." he whispered, "I got your back. I'll hold things down here."

Keith slid his fingers along the back of Lance's hands until they were trapped between his alpha's spread knuckles. He shifted until he had his nose tucked under Lance's jaw.


	13. Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith gets help as well as the support he had all along.

_ Two weeks later. _

At nightfall, Clara found Keith alone in the Wellspring caretaker garden, limbs fanned out on powder-like moss. Just beyond him were hundreds of iridescent lilypads carefully arranged to form a syntax of symbols the size of airbuses. 

"Are you supposed to be here?" asked Clara.

Keith kept his eyes trained up towards the skies. He shrugged, "We can roam the grounds."

Clara took a step back. The symbols were almost too large to be read at ground-level, "Dirty human juice.......?"

"No, it says  _ Earthbound, Milky Way _ ," Keith corrected, annoyed.

"Really? You're mixing coding I think...and that's the main language used one planet over, not Spring Eternal's."

"They get it."

"Don't think they would, whoever they are," Clara drawled, looking around at the lonely knoll. Keith was the only one out there. "Mami, is this how you relax?" She gestured towards the symbols, "Garden graffiti?" 

"It's not graffiti," Keith answered, tone churlish, "I am trying to get abducted."

He wasn't going to look at his daughter despite the pregnant silence. He could feel her eyes on him and frowned when he heard her sudden humor, "So...this is you trying to hitchhike back to Earth?"

The question was not worthy of an answer.

"Why didn't you use standard piloting language?"

"I don't want just any galactic pilot's attention, only Lillian merchant ones."

"I'm not even gonna ask," snorted Clara, she sat down heavily on the moss, next to Keith, "Mami your halfway through the treatment plan plus therapy has been good for you."

Keith glanced at his daughter, "I want to be with my bondmate and my kids but I'm banned from unsupervised travel."

The first movement there, Keith had a few worsening episodes while under the Wellspring's care which was merely observational at that stage. Treatment was more restrictive than he had anticipated.

"Hey,  _ I'm _ your kid, too." Clara said mostly in jest but mixed with the eternal childish need for validation from mom.

Keith sought his daughter's hand by touch, intertwining their fingers loosely when he found it, "I love that I get to race hoverbikes down the Mosaic Springs with my daughter and talk about anything. Me and my Clara on Spring Eternal..." He said trailing off as if he forgot he was actually talking to his daughter and was simply expressing his happy thoughts out loud. Clara's smile softened, her eyes tearing up for a moment. She squeezed Keith's hand.

"I miss Shiro and Saul,' Keith answered, "And Lance. He's taking care of them by himself..." Keith trailed off, pensively, "When I was alone with you and Shiro it was hard," he paused again, "Lance lets them get away with everything..." his voice was barely a whisper, "I miss my alpha. I can't touch him or sit by him..."

Clara laid back, her head touching her mom's, her body at a ninety degree angle from Keith on the garden grounds.

"You really love papi don't you."

"Pfff..." Keith snorted but his haughty brush-off was quickly replaced with love sick torment. He felt almost a physical pull for home; he wanted to be in Lance's company so badly. Lance was the only one that understood everything: Keith's outlook, his impatience over stupidity, his eyes for the big picture, their kids, the situation with Saul...

Clara rested her arms behind her head, looking up at the stars. "How did you know he was the one?"

Keith's nose crinkled, "The one?" A corner of his lips quirked, "There were not a lot of options." 

"So you gave up and settled for the alpha paladin next door?"

He grinned."Something like that," he trailed off, mind running through times past, "...back then whenever we were planet-side, Lance joined me and it was just you, me and him sometimes," his smile lingered, "One day I realized that I was starting to dream of a future after the war and everything I imagined included the three of us together. The dreams made me happy. It felt weird. 

"I never wanted anything more badly..." He added, trailing off again, "...but it seemed impossible," his lips remained slightly parted, a far away look in his eye. 

Clara looked at her mom, smiling, "You're seriously trying to hitchhike back to Earth aren't you?"

Keith confessed, "I modified a deliveryman's call signal to draw Lillian merchants' attention to the area. They don't ask questions."

Clara laughed. "Mami! Lily merchants help their fellow Lillies with merchandise. You're not a Lillian merchant and you're definitely not merchandise."

"I would get on the ship." Keith said with easy confidence.

"You know I would find you."

Keith sighed, "No you wouldn't. But, you might tell Lance and he would find me before I get back to Earth," he added, wistfully, "I could probably get him to kiss me before he brings me back."

Clara shook her head, "...Ma."

She threw an arm by Keith's head, turning her head slightly inwards towards him, their temples and part of their foreheads touching. It really was nice to be with his daughter. Her scent was a bit like his own and Lance and so familiar and wonderful.

"Will you help me put the lilypads back behind the fencing?" Keith asked.

Clara nodded, "That'll be fifty five thousand credits. United Alliance credits only."

"Put it on Lance's tab." Keith answered, causing Clara to laugh.

"Thanks for taking care of me."

"Love you, ma." Clara answered, simply.

_ One movement after that... _

"Hi Clara!" Saul chirped, leaning into the screen and waving. "How are you and mami? May I please see mami?"

Clara grinned, her gaze sneaking over to Lance and Shiro who were sitting on either side of Saul in Shiro's old bedroom. Two grumpy faces and a cheery one looked back at her.

Clara smirked, "Mami's coming. Things are good! The Wellspring released mami to me a few quintants ago! We've been eating a lot of flowerfloss. How are things over there?"

"Papi and Shiro are always fighting. Hi Mami! I miss you so much!!" said Saul, catching Keith entering the cove behind Clara. Keith's eyes widened as he caught sight of the call panel and he waved frantically ("Hi! Hi!"). 

"Only because Papi is  _ crazy _ . Mami, you need to..." started Shiro, "..uh..."

"Um," they heard Clara say. "Just a warning that mami's heavily medicated. He's got digestibles swimming inside correcting his neural pathways..and other drugs keeping him distracted..."

Keith had power-walked so close to the screen that most of the panel was filled by his purple pupils and dark strands of messy hair. 

"My spawn. So beautiful," Keith sighed, after assessing each of them.

"Aaaand that's the drugs talking. He's been extra loopy since this morning," said Clara, guiding her mom back away from the screen and onto a couch. 

"Which drugs?" asked Lance, worried.

"A few?" Clara shrugged, "The medical plan details a lot of mumbo-jumbo about the formulations. I forwarded the latest." 

" _ Wow _ ." Keith said, eyes falling on Lance once again. His focus didn't seem related to the conversation as he studied Lance carefully, mouth dropping a little on its own accord. He took a deep breath, "Hi, Lance."

The breath ended in a dreamy sigh. Clara and Shiro stared while Saul's smile grew a little sharper.

"Hi, Kitten," Lance grinned.

Keith waved, propping his chin on a hand. His movements were slow and over-exaggerated.

"You're..." Keith fished for the right word, "...  _ attractive _ ."

Lance's eyes lit up; he chuckled, answering, "Thank you. I'm glad that you think so."

Keith leaned towards the screen and asked, "[How do you]{look so good}?"

"Was that Galra and Spanish? Galrish? Impressive, Kitten." 

Keith's eyes grew wide. He sat back, as if his suspicions were confirmed and his mind was blown, "I  _ am _ a cat!"

"Make it stop," said Shiro over the giggles that were escaping his brother. 

"It's just a pet name, baby. You are not a cat." 

Keith breathed out in relief (or disappointment?) and seemed transfixed again, looking at Lance who did not seem inclined to deter his bondmate's behavior in any way, merely grinning more broadly. 

Keith slowly moved back and leaned into his daughter. He stage-whispered, "He is so good looking. Can he see me?" 

Clara adjusted her mom's teetering lean while Lance laughed. "He can see you, ma."

"All of me? Do I look good?" Keith wondered.

"You're a snack!" said Lance which made Keith freeze with a whole new set of concerns.

Clara shook her head, "Mami, please focus. Your bondmate and children are trying to talk to you and we don't get many beacon windows. I think you wanted to tell them how much you missed them. And you wanted some private time to share some news with papi, remember?"

He cleared his throat, "Yes! My hormones are  _ fucked up _ -"

" _ -Mami, during private one on one conversation-"  _ hissed Clara at the same time that Shiro straightened and paid close attention, "What?"

Keith turned to face the screen and gave Shiro a sorrowful look, he confessed, "My genes  _ fucked you up _ ," he said, theatrically slapping his hand to his chest, eyes watering, "My genes have a high propensity for early heat but it skipped me and tortured you! Fuck my genes!" 

His eyes kept straying towards Lance as if he couldn't help it. It looked like Shiro was having a hard time taking his mom's swearing confession seriously. He bit his lip and half shrugged, "It's okay, mama."

"It's not..." Keith glanced at Saul whose ears were covered by his dad's hands, "Saul.  _ Saul _ . I love you so much. Sooo much. So so much." 

He crept his arms slowly around Clara, who froze, and pulled at her shoulders until she was forced to rest her head on his chest. He nuzzled her ear and petted her hair. Clara gave a long suffering sigh and tried to extricate herself. 

"I  _ love _ all of you," he whispered.

"Maaa...would you...ugh."

Keith trained his eyes on Lance and informed him, "My treatment has  _ intimate _ side-effects..." his head wandered, again. He watched himself pet his daughter's hair, "If we have another daughter we should call her Vagina Alvarez."

"What about side-effects?" said Lance, too concerned to take advantage of the opening on more children. The kids in the meantime looked at each other in horror. Clara managed to free herself. Lance then thought better of his own concerns, realizing that Keith's response wouldn't be news for sharing with the kids, "Actually-"

But Keith was already answering, "My birth canal is open for business and I am not even pregnant!" 

"Kitten-"

Shiro's face morphed while Lance shoved the headphones his youngest had around his neck over his ears. Saul calmly adjusted it's filters the moment his brother and dad looked away.

" _ Ma _ ," Clara chided.

"You should see it! My vagina thinks it's pregnant!!" 

Keith dodged his daughter's full body tackle without trying too hard.

"The inner dicking hole is sealed tight!" he added, "Is this my new life?"

"Saul!" shouted Lance, suspicious that his youngest was in fact listening but Saul, to his credit, did not react, "Kitten, our kids are listening to you."

Keith's eyes narrowed and his nose crinkled as if he were wondering what his kids had to do with anything. He glanced at Clara who was dusting herself off from the rough landing and bent down, lifting her straight off the ground in a bridal carry.

"Maaaa! Oh my god," squawked Clara as she landed on his lap and was promptly held hostage by steely arms. Her much taller, bigger proportions completely blocked his petite form from view. She fit on his lap the way a St. Bernard would fit on a lap; only his arms and part of his shoulders were visible on screen.

"Remember when you used to call Shiro, Sheryce?" said Keith from somewhere behind his daughter just as she said, "This is ridiculous." 

"Can you get your dumb granny boobs out of the way?" said Shiro to Clara. He was so eager to burn his sister that he almost missed his mom's comment. He sputtered, "What- Sheryce?! Papi, who is Sheryce?"

"Granny like your jowls, dumbass?" said Clara as she struggled to free herself from Keith.

"My jowls are youthful and cute like the rest of me!" Shiro shot back then quickly turned his attention back to dad, "[Is it true that you called me Sheryce?]"

"Your mother is on drugs." Lance answered smoothly then pointed an accusing finger at Saul who had started giggling. "I knew it! You can hear us!"

"No, I can't, I have headphones," Said Saul, gesturing at them.

"That wasn't a 'no'!" Shiro replied to Lance who snatched Saul's headphones right off his head.   
  
"He called you, Sheryce," answered Keith, "It wasn't his fault, he couldn't remember your name. We should've called you Lance."

"Papi!" laughed Saul; he attempted to stop his dad from trying out the headphones by trapping his arms with a bear hug which his dad countered by grabbing the back of his pajamas for a wedgie. 

" _ Papi _ ," squealed Saul, yanking his arms back to stop him. "No!" he cackled.

Lance took the opportunity to shove the headphones on his own head causing his youngest to immediately tap the ear muff, activating the music and wincing as it blasted louder than he intended.

"Ahh!" cried out Lance, "You little delinquent, out you go!"

"I'm sorry," was Saul's rueful reply. Lance stood up, dropping a steely hand on his son's shoulder, frog marching him towards the door.

When they got there, soft sad eyes, glanced back at Lance and into the room, "Everyone gets to stay with mami but me..." 

"Baby, Mami is medicated right now and might say things he really doesn't want you to hear."

Saul's perpetual smile, faded. He stuck his hands together, begging, "I can handle it.  _ Please _ . Please, can I stay?"

Maybe it was the idea of shutting the door on the saddest preteen in the world that made Lance have a change of heart. He grumpily stuck the headphones back on Saul's head with the music at a reasonable volume and took his hand, leading him back into the room.

They returned to Shiro crowing, "Weakest alpha ever!" 

They watched Clara try to pry Keith's arms from her waist to no avail. Saul kept hold of Lance's hand and rested his head on him, smiling gratefully.

"Strike with your knuckles to break my grip," coached Keith.

"Or,  _ mother _ , let me go!" Clara demanded although she smashed her knuckles against Keith's hand.

"That hurts. Very good." Keith answered, not budging.

"Kitten, Clara is a grown woman. You can't carry her around like that."

Keith peeked his head to the side to see past Clara."Yes, I can." he said in a 'isn't it obvious?' tone.

"Kitten," Lance smiled, patiently, "She doesn't  _ want _ you to carry her around like that."

Keith frowned and disappeared from view behind Clara. She was released shortly after and scurried away. Her mom was soon distracted by the shape and size of his hand. He held it up in fascination and they all watched his wonder for a good minute or so. Keith eventually looked down towards his lap.

He sighed and admitted with sadness, "My fingers make poor substitutes for c-."

"NOPE. No you don't. Nope." said Clara while Lance yelped, "Kitten!"

The moment there was a gap in the yelling, Keith clarified, "For _ cock _ ."

"I'll go." said Saul, already speeding away before his dad could react.

"Join your brother, Shiro," managed Lance.

But Shiro was caught in the terrible moment where he wanted to know more information and offer his help but also hated the possibility of knowing more information. "There are toys." 

Clara's eyes nearly popped out of her head, "You want to go there, Shiro?!"

"Yes, are you sure you want to have this conversation?!" Lance joined in as Keith dismissed, "Baah."

However, Shiro needed to win any debate he joined, like a dog to a bone or a moth to a flame..."Mami, there are so many good options!" 

Keith's eyes narrowed, watching Lance start to hustle Shiro out the door. He called out, "Is there an option that can fight me, spank me, and put me to bed?"

"Spank you?!" said Shiro, shocked. 

Lance yanked the door open, saying, "Didn't I tell you that your mother is on drugs?! Get out of here!" 

They found Saul standing there on the other side of the door. He waved goodbye while his brother landed beside him. Lance slammed the door shut, stomped forward then backtracked and jerked the door open, catching the kids just as Shiro projected a hacked access to the call. They both yelped and fled in opposite directions.

"You better be off to Aunt Emily's chicken coop! It better be sparkling by the time I get there," Lance yelled after them.

"Beacon's up," drawled Clara, right as the transmission cut out.

Their next window would not be for another movement.

\---

Since Keith's physiology was unique, his medical team wanted him to stay on planet for the full eight movements that it would take to acclimate to his rehabilitation. Clara had never seen her mom so mopey. He did not miss out on time spent with her and was ready for any adventure but often he seemed quieter and disengaged. It was weird and distressing to witness how affected he was from being away from home. 

She was glad that papi cooked up his surprise visit. It was thrilling to secretly let papi into their homecove early one morning. 

"[My daughter]," Lance whispered, getting a good look at her and grinning. She grinned back, laughing at being hugged off her feet. "Hi papi."

"Where's mami?" he tugged off his cloak, "I don't have much time, the flight back is in an hour - uh varga."

"Mami!" Clara called out, "I made us coffee!"

Lance ducked behind shelving just as Keith's voice rang through the hallway.

"Coffee? We have coffee?"

On arrival, Keith's attention was immediately drawn to the discarded cloak hanging off the dining chair before he fixed Clara with a questioning look. She watched his gaze flicker away and grinned when he appeared to freeze in place. Lance had rounded the corner.

He waved.

Something about her mom went soft and fragile in the presence of her dad. Keith wasn't smiling but his gaze carried the full breadth of his feelings. 

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood."

"Ugh, aroused parents' scent. I forgot about that," said Clara. 

Her parents weren't paying her any attention.

"I'm out," she said, grabbing her cloak and exiting their temporary home.

Lance was there in the flesh... Keith should do something. He'd been plotting all the things he would do to Lance once he got his hands on him. And here he was. He should jump his alpha and drag him down to the ground so he could tear his pants off with his teeth. Keith could demand the kiss he had been longing for, for so long. 

"Kitten..." said Lance, taking a step forward.

"I have feelings!" Keith blurted, all his plans immediately shot to hell.

Lance blinked in surprise, his smile broadening,"You're shitting me." 

Keith looked away. He heard Lance step forward and reached for his offered hand. The familiar strength and scent was with him again, at last. Keith breathed in slow, the cool air fortifying him for the things he needed to get off his chest.

Last night, he had dreamt of their youngest child. Endless moments both real and imagined that all led to Keith tidying his son's tombstone plot within the dream. Keith ploughed forward, heart in his hand, "How do you really feel about Saul?" 

He watched Lance go still and carefully eye his expression. Lance knew what he meant. How could it be that Lance was granted longevity while their precious child was not?

"Baby, it's the way it is," said Lance, kindly, "Things are okay."

It echoed a common theme around the Wellspring. Deep down, Keith understood that his therapist was ever so gently nudging him towards facing his pain over Saul. It underscored everything else. The Galra embraced their hurt but in this case... Keith simply wasn't ready. 

When Saul's situation hits Keith, it almost kills him, each and every time. His mental health issues were partly neurological disease familiar to Galra but he had far more mundane issues, too. Depression wasn't always an obvious thing. His psyche was a garden cultivated from sadness and hurt. He told his therapist as much during a break from a sparring session with her.

She proposed that if Keith had the capacity to nourish such sadness then he was capable of cultivating joy. She could help him plant the seeds. He could learn how to raise the cheerful accents and contrasts necessary for a fuller, more rounded take on life. His garden should bear the full kaleidoscope of his experiences. 

The air on Spring Eternal was sweet. His alpha was here. He was having fun with his eldest child. Keith breathed in his alpha's scent and slowly slid his hands down the familiar planes and angles of his body. He looked up and smiled at the volumes of warmth and devotion offered to him so freely.

"I know, Lance," he said and squeezed his alpha tight.

_ One month later. _

The first thing Keith did on arrival was break away for a long, hot shower the moment Lance was distracted with the kids. He'd been excited about returning home to his family and alpha's scent but he had to contend with the traitorous plague that was his body. Keith could take down opponents and maneuver a dirt or hopper bike with ease and complete control. Yet his body had also projectile vomited and gushed blood and crapped on or in the presence of his bondmate multiple times. Go, him.

Before his current medications, it was nearly impossible to have any 'brown variety' accidents during sex given omega biology but now that his body was tricked into believing it was pregnant, it meant his birth slit was relaxed and the inner opening was no more. His anus would lead strictly to anal sex... Keith stuck his head under the shower and groaned. When he was pregnant, anal sex didn't work so hot for him. Hopefully, Lance would be too busy focusing on his birthing entrance. Besides, they just got back home from the spaceport. Lance might possibly give him some space and let him re-adjust... 

Keith heard the bathroom door swing open then the metal of a belt buckle hit the floor. Seconds later his bathtub was much too crowded.

"Hi!" said Lance, "We're naked." 

How Lance was able to disrobe and pop into the shower so fast was beyond Keith. A pair of warm palms trailed down Keith's sides, each grabbing a handful of ass cheek and squeezing tight, pushing him flush to his alpha's front. Such a delightful press into a strong, one hundred percent compatible alpha body... the weight and promise of his  _ dick,  _ so much larger than Keith's own was quickly turning Keith's legs to jelly.

"Do you want to mess around later?" 

Lance's finger dipped in to tease Keith's puckered opening. Just as he feared. 

"Yes," Keith hesitated, "No. Yes. No," he confessed, "I might crap myself."

"You need to work on your dirty talk," was Lance's glib reply, "You stole that line from me. Used it when following your orders during the war."

"At least you knew how your asshole worked..."

Keith's eyebrows raised, he suspected Lance wasn't aware that his mindless finger drumming was also very invasive asshole tapping. 

Lance wondered, "Isn't it like when you were pregnant?"

"Yeah, so if you're looking for vagina access, you're at the wrong door."

"Oh!" Lance said and slid his fingers down to Keith's birthing slit, "Right."

Then the fingers moved back to their original spot. Keith tried to stay very still and not jerk towards the hot sexy body in front of him nor squeeze his anus tight in excitement giving the owner of said body hope. 

"I'm used to here. How about anal?" 

Keith shrugged. "I'm not prepared."

"Worth the risk?"

Proof that Lance's need to dick Keith trumped potential ick. Keith wasn't sure if Lance had any ick reaction left.

"Fuck off," Keith ducked out of the shower and grabbed a towel on the way to the bathroom closet. He searched for something to wear. 

"It's all I'm gonna think about," called out Lance. 

Keith popped his head back into the bathroom, seeing Lance lather up. He suggested, "I thought you would be all over my brand new opening?"

"Well, yeah..." Keith could  _ hear _ the poutiness. "...don't you like anal?" 

Of course he would fixate on what was off limits. Keith opted for one of Lance's sweatshirts and answered, "It's fine."

"I mean..." Lance rinsed as he said, "Use the toilet and take a shower." 

"I can do that." said Keith, stepping out of the closet while Lance toweled off. "We can try a few days from now. I'm not comfortable yet."

Lance's eager smile turned back into a pout. Keith smirked, shoving his hair into a ponytail, "You can still fuck me, Lance," he moved into Lance's space, craning his head up and pressing his body snug to his bondmate, "I want my alpha to fuck me. Just hold off on anal."

Lance's cheeks grew flushed.

"Is there anything that could convince you on anal tonight?"

What was wrong with him? Keith laughed and marched out of the bathroom and bedroom for the kitchen. "No idea."

"What idea?" asked Shiro who brought in freshly delivered take-out. Saul set his guitar aside and sidled up beside his brother to watch him unpack the food.

"Shiro, mind your own nose." said Lance, casually, "What if I spitball some ideas?"

Keith shrugged, helping Shiro and Saul unbag the food. "Sure, why not?"

Lance grabbed a few cups from the cupboard, "I have one."

"Like stop being insane and wait a few days?" said Keith shortly before he took a bite out of a crispy eggroll that Saul held up for him to try.

"Um, you guys have a crazy mess in the junk shed." Clara walked in via the kitchen entrance and gave Keith a hug from behind and a kiss on the cheek. She followed suit with Lance and grabbed a plate.

"It's the junk shed. That is what it's there for. Also opinions from slobs who live in garbage don't carry much weight," said Lance to Clara then in reply to Keith he said, "Kitten, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today."

"You calling me a slob?"

"I'm calling you the queen of the slobs," said Lance without looking at his daughter.

Clara ignored her dad and narrowed her eyes at Shiro who scowled back, getting nose to nose with her.

"What?!" he asked.

"Are you getting shorter?" Clara wondered, catching Saul who was walking past with napkins.

"He's the same." said Saul, snuggling into his sister's side, "I'm just taller."

Shiro rolled his eyes and stole fried shrimp from Clara's plate. "I'm not short."

"Vertically challenged?" wondered Saul and Clara at the same time.

"Ha ha except no one is laughing...what...aw c'mon!" Shiro scowled as everyone reacted to his shrimp steal by dumping all the shrimp available onto his plate, "I'm not gonna eat all that!"

"[Eat it.]" said Clara and Lance.

"You're getting close to pre-heat. You should eat," reasoned Saul. Keith hauled a few counter stools for everyone since they ended up around the kitchen island.

"Why are you keeping tab?! [Leave me alone, you can't make me eat]," Shiro grumbled as he settled into his seat.

"You wanna get shorter?"

"Why yes, Clara! I wanna get shorter!" snarked Shiro then snapped his mouth shut and glared at Lance when he attempted to shove a forkful of shrimp into his mouth. Keith leaned past Lance to grab the rice and ended up sliding off his barstool as a consequence of being hauled closer to Lance via the sudden grip on his waist. Keith glanced at the stand off between Lance, the fork he still had aimed at Shiro, and his son's scowl.

"Shiro, eat it."

Shiro's face twisted into even more stubborn defiance. His lips had pressed into a thin line.

"By the way, I took all your shit out of my room and put it in Saul's old room. I'm staying for a few weeks so you can stay in that dusty closet while I'm here."

"Language," said Keith.

"[Excuse me?! Mami,  _ you _ did not.]" said Clara just as Shiro turned beet red and yelled, "What!" 

Lance popped a big shrimp into Shiro's gaping maw causing Clara to forget her indignant question and break out in laughter as Saul shook his head, admonishing, "Shiro, Clara just got here! No way she did anything to your room. She's teasing you."

Lance pointed a threatening finger at Shiro, "[Chew.]"

Shiro sprang up and shouted at his dad at the top of his lungs, "[No!  _ You _ chew!]" 

There was enough attitude in his retort to make Saul wince and look at Lance and Keith, wide-eyed, realizing that his brother was in hot water before he did. Clara merely narrowed her eyes, displeased that Shiro approached her former level of teenage rudeness with the parents.

"Don't talk to him like that," snapped Keith, that kind of attitude towards Lance was intolerable to him. "Don't raise your voice at us, period."

"Sorry," squeaked Shiro. He had gone pale as he looked back at Lance and said, "[Sorry, papi, I didn't mean it]," he chewed the mouthful of shrimp and popped in another shrimp for good measure like the good son he was aiming to be. He then whined, "Clara used to yell at you all the time..."

Clara made a face just as Lance replied dryly, "Which is why we got rid of her and buried the body," he nodded in Clara's direction, "That's her clone."

"Just because I was a dumbass doesn't mean you should be a dumbass. Dumbass. You know better."

"Clara could you please bring it down a level?" sighed Lance, "Don't call your brother names."

"It's a pet name. Like Kitten. Or lambchop."

"Who is lambchop?" asked Saul, he had migrated from under Clara's arm to standing behind Keith, idly attempting to braid Keith's ponytail (and distract him from his annoyance with Shiro.)

"Shiro. He's an adorable little lambchop."

"Saul, did you finish your meal?" asked Keith, raising an eyebrow. Saul smiled and wandered back to his plate, shoveling a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

"I'm not a cut of meat of any kind. Why are you always messing with me? Grow up! You're so annoying," said Shiro.

"Because you're ridiculously easy to rile up, lambchop."

"So are you! And don't call me lambchop!"

Clara grinned in exactly the way she knew would make Shiro want to smack her head off. 

"You take the cake, cutlet of lamb."

Shiro gave her a narrowed look and glanced at Lance, scarfing down the shrimp to keep him off his case. He kept his eyes trained on his sister who was only too happy to stare back. The second Lance turned away to speak to Keith ("This isn't the right stuff for you to eat, is it?" Lance said in dismay.) Shiro said, "Saul, I think I heard your guitar fall," prompting Saul to frown and hurry out of the kitchen to check. With the coast now clear, Shiro leaned towards his sister and eyed her in triumph as he very clearly mouthed the words  _ I am blowing two alphas  _ and made a rude jerking off gesture, licking his lips suggestively.

Keith looked up at Clara. Her pheromone scent matched the sudden fury in her eyes,"Clara?" 

" _ We need to talk _ ," she hissed at Shiro.

"Don't think so,  _ porkchop _ ."

"Guitar's okay! Something else must've dropped," said Saul, returning to the counter.

"Everything's great, ma," Clara said through gritted teeth, " _ Shiro.  _ That better be a very bad joke!"

"Uh, I haven't said anything? Are you hearing voices again?" he asked smugly.

Clara stood up, rounding the counter to snatch her brother who ducked away and laughed, "Oh, look who took all the cake!" 

She tried to grab him again but he danced away, laughing.

"This is serious. Stop messing around," she growled.

"No, it's not!" Shiro sobered and snapped back, "My choices got nothing to do with you! You have no say."

She tried to catch him a few more times until she accidentally tipped Saul's plate over which he barely managed to keep from spilling to the floor.

"Ahh, sorry Saul!" She said and at last simply glared past Saul's shoulder at Shiro and snarked, "Know what? Fine. Don't come crying to me when your reputation at school is in tatters. You're always so worried about other people's opinion of you, how do you think this will turn out? Don't say I didn't warn you."

Shiro's eyes went wide and he teared up immediately. Clara took a step back and crossed her arms, "See? And this is just friendly fire!"

"It wasn't friendly at all," breathed Saul.

"It's the  _ truth _ . I'm just trying to prepare him for it!"

Shiro growled, wiping away an angry tear, "It's the stupidest thing I have ever heard!"

He marched into Clara's personal space, gaze blazing. She stared back, unmoved and unimpressed. Their escalation got their parents attention; Keith and Lance had been trying their best to ignore the fighting and keep up their own conversation.

"What is happening here?" said Lance, getting between Clara and the boys. "Knock it off!"

Shiro took a deep breath, glaring daggers at his sister, "Reputation is a stupid societal construct made to-"

"Blah blah! So what if it is?!" Clara interrupted, trying to see past Lance who was herding her away from her brothers, "There is still the fact that you're gonna get one and you're gonna have to deal with it."

"Since when do  _ you _ care about reputation!!" asked Shiro, hands balled into fists and trailing closely behind Lance. 

"I don't! But you do! I know how much that kind of stuff matters to you!"

"Shiro back away." said Lance as Keith reached for Saul, concerned for his uncharacteristic tears. He started leading Saul to his room, talking quietly to him.

"Not until Clara gets her head out of her butt!"

"How about you take your own advice, kid." 

"Don't call me that!"

"You better get used to names!"

Shiro's face turned a deeper shade of crimson. He shouted, "You're so stupid! This isn't even about reputations! You just don't like the fact that you can't  _ control- _

Clara had been backing away but stopped to argue back, "Are you seriously-"

Lance huffed and reached out to smack both Shiro and Clara hard upside the head. 

"OW." they both said, Shiro adding, "Papi that's not fair!!"

"Stop talking, Shiro," said Lance and whirled on Clara, laying into her, "What is the matter with you?! You're a twenty five year old alpha woman. How're you still getting into childish fights with your sixteen year old omega brother?!"

"It's not a childish fight," she said, cool gaze on Shiro who looked like he was having a fit, tears running down his cheeks. He yelled, causing Lance to jump, "What do gender dynamics have to do with anything?!"

"What did I say?" threatened Lance, "Talk again and you're grounded!" 

"You're so naive," snorted Clara at her brother.

"Shut up, Clara!" She rolled her eyes just as Lance informed Shiro, "You're grounded. Clara stop  _ instigating _ ."

Shiro sobbed, "This isn't right!"

"I told you not one more word!" Lance rounded on Shiro who snapped his trembling mouth shut.

"I can't believe you two! Mami literally just got back an hour ago and this is how you welcome him? I'm sick of you treating each other like animals." he turned to Clara, "You don't even live here! You can't figure out how to keep the peace with your brother the two times a year that you're with him?!"

"Papi, believe me, if you knew what was up you wouldn't be happy," she said, dropping onto a sofa in the den and fixing a judgmental look on Shiro who immediately lost it. He slammed his fist down hard enough on the kitchen table that they all heard it crack. Incidentally, Lance had abandoned his plate there when he ran over to referee.

The plate of rice and noodles and soy sauce went flying, catapulting out of the kitchen and smacking the back of Lance's head, then clattering to the floor. Soy sauce and wet food debris splattered all over Lance and the furniture in range.

Everyone's mouths dropped open. Shiro nearly swooned in a dead faint. Keith had returned in time to catch his alpha's stressed out scent flood the room. Keith turned to find Saul watching from the door of his bedroom and gestured for him to go back inside.

"Did..." That was Lance's very calm but really close to losing his temper voice. It looked like he had paused to gather himself, "Did you just  _ throw _ that at me?" 

There was a dark glint in Lance's eye. Shiro was so horrified that he was speechless. He merely gawked at his dad unable to utter a word of platitude to save himself.

"No, he was just being an angry idiot and hit the table like a dumbass," said Clara as she started to gather the clumps of noodle and rice that had landed on the sofa. 

"Shiro," Lance began quietly, "I hit my dad by accident once... and I was subjected to a  _ chancletaso _ so bad that I'm still feeling it!" Lance shouted, at last losing his cool, "You're lucky I'm not my dad! Watch that temper of yours!" 

"We're all lucky you're not extra related to grandpa. Family trees should have branches, otherwise it's just a tree trunk. Or a log. The family tree log," said Clara.

"Give it a rest, Clara." said Keith, eyeing his son and bondmate.

Shiro was breathing hard and visibly quailing under his dad's threatening glower. Keith didn't like the scene at all despite no actual danger to Shiro; his small omega son was wilting under his aggressive much bigger looking alpha dad. Shiro's own stressed scent was nearly as powerful as Lance's and it made Keith want to smack Lance away. 

Keith distracted himself while casually moving in between them by trying to imagine Lance's dad chasing his bondmate down with a flip-flop. He never had the chance to meet Lance's parents but it was weird to imagine the kindly looking old man he'd seen in old projections being anything but soft and sweet to his kids. Keith gave Lance a sympathetic look as he felt Shiro grab his shirt from behind and crush his face against his back.

"He's trying, Lance," said Keith, going up to bat for his son, "Our Galra genes make our tempers harder to manage. We run hot. Shiro will do better."

"Huh, that's a new and broader understanding from you that I never benefited from," said Clara, though the look she gave Keith made clear that she was more amused than anything else, "Besides, I thought you were always so patient and calm with us? You were practically a monk if I ever saw one," She quickly threw her hands up in surrender and backed away when Lance turned to settle a glare of death on her.

"Sheesh, papi, maybe you're Galra, too?"

"Go somewhere, Clara!" said Lance, exasperated, "And  _ Shiro-"  _ Keith felt Shiro's hands clench his shirt even tighter, "Go to your room!"

Keith heard his son's choked sob as he scurried away, likely only too happy to leave the scene of the crime. Clara brushed the food she gathered onto the plate she picked up from the floor and dusted her hands off.

"Sorry, papi. I'll go mess with the junk shed." 

She headed back out the kitchen door leaving Lance alone with Keith.

Lance inspected the stain damage to the den, throwing his arms up, "Look at this fucking mess," he turned to Keith and asked, "Did he break the table? Please tell me he didn't break the table. I love that table. It took me forever to find the perfect table."

Keith leaned back and took a look. Shiro definitely broke the table; the wood had splintered into separate cratered pieces along the end corner. His son's punches were freakishly strong and clearly capable of demolishing heirloom-quality furniture.

"We can get a tablecloth."

Lance froze, eyes going wide. He began to march towards the table but Keith got in his way again. Poor Lance was frazzled however, seeing his temper was kind of hot. Keith slid his arms around Lance's waist and planted a kiss square on his chest.

He smiled up at his bondmate, "I missed this."

"What?" Lance, sputtered. "Kitten, there is soy sauce and noodles trailing down the inside of my shirt."

Keith grinned then pressed another gentle kiss on Lance's chest and said softly, "Let me talk to Shiro and I'll help you clean up... And later, I'll lick away any soy sauce left on my alpha and lick whatever else he wants," he planted another kiss.

Lance hesitated, interested despite himself, "Mrgh..." he sighed, deflated, "This isn't what I wanted you to come back to."

Keith shrugged, "Our normal family life makes me happy."

Lance raised an eyebrow, "Really? You're messed up."

Keith smiled, "Yeah." And stretched up on his tiptoes to press a kiss on Lance's lips.

\--- 

The next day, Keith watched his kids wander the neighborhood market together while Lance paid for his purchases. All three were eating snow cones that Clara had bought for them.

The boys were on either side of their sister; Clara holding her snow cone in the hand she had resting on Saul's shoulder. Her other hand was tucked within the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie, holding Shiro's hand within despite the very obvious bickering going on between the two. 

A few times, Shiro abruptly greeted a friend or struck up a conversation with a stranger his age. The kids seemed thrilled to have his attention, especially when his natural poker face broke into a grin or hearty laugh. Keith thought he had even spotted George, who tormented Shiro and his friends when they were younger, giving his son long, quiet looks. 

In the meantime, Clara and Saul talked amongst themselves whenever Shiro stopped for a chat. At one point, Clara released Shiro's hand and snatched his comm away before he could exchange contact details with an unfamiliar alpha girl via tapping his comm against hers. 

Keith chuckled at seeing his son yelling, "Hey!"

While they bickered, Keith's youngest smiled shyly and waved back at the older teens that greeted him; most of the neighborhood were fans of his and were proud of his musical talent. They ruffled his hair and patted his back as they passed by. Clara froze when she noticed, reminding Keith that Saul used to be too shy to play music in public. She had moved out before Saul had opened up. Her mouth dropped when a beta girl planted a smoochy kiss on Saul's cheek.

It was enough time for Shiro to stealthily take the alpha girl's comm and tap it against his own while it was still in Clara's hand. He gave it back to the girl, sharing a mischievous giggle with her.

Keith felt an arm go around him and a soft kiss press over his scent gland. He leaned back into his alpha. "Should we break the news to Clara that Saul is basically engaged to the Epa-yl girl?"

Lance huffed, not exactly thrilled by Saul's earlier declaration. "Why are kids always in such a hurry to grow up? They're too young for the big things. They have literally the rest of their lives to figure things out."

Keith smirked and looked up at Lance, "Right. How old were you again when you became a dad?"

"I was different," Lance scoffed, "I was very mature for my age."

Keith's eyebrows shot up. "And I was a pretty, pretty princess."

Lance immediately nuzzled Keith and loudly cooed (to the amusement of the neighbors nearby), "Yes you were. You were the prettiest prickliest princess! It was so cute!".

"You are very fucked up in the head," Keith replied, perpetually amused at Lance's take on him.

"It's why you love me."

Keith smirked and patted Lance's arm as patronizingly as he could.

Lance leaned in close. " _ Kitten _ ," he said as if responding to something scandalous, "dick hard."

"Because I'm touching you?"

"Yeah, do me a favor and touch my plantain just like that."

Keith suppressed laughter when Lance offered him a large green plantain from the basket he had set on the floor. Keith did not reach for it, although he felt the usual rush at goofing around with his alpha.

Lance prompted, "I was handing you this plantain."

"I don't want your fucking plantain."

"Accept my gift, Kitten. You've been through a rough patch and I want you to have an emotional support plantain."

"You guys are so friggen weird," Clara announced on arrival. She was holding both of her brothers' hands in a death grip, having marched them away from the kids that were too saucy for her liking. 

"Is it not a normal plantain?" asked Shiro, taking a step closer, "Does it have any special extraterrestrial properties?" 

"It turns green when idiots get close."

Shiro growled and swung at his sister while his brother calmly stepped back, smiling.

Keith shook his head and took a step back as well to allow a mom through who was carrying a toddler on her hip. The child reached for the stand near Keith which was piled high with grapefruit, triggering an avalanche of fruit. Keith wasn't given a chance to react in the commotion that followed, he could've very easily evaded and potentially saved the fruit however, his bondmate had swung him out of range.

Next thing Keith knew, his family's arms were wrapped around him, all his kids and his alpha. Concern and love in all of the eyes staring back at him. They were such an overprotective bunch.

Keith smiled, committing this moment to memory. 

Keith would address his feelings over Saul. Life would carry on. He was molded by all the awkward shapes and sizes of his life experiences. It was up to him whether to hold his pieces to sunlight so he could see his own shine. 

He laughed a bit, feeling at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the story brought you some warmth. :) I'd love to know if any of it stuck with you. Thanks for reading and as always hearing from you would be a pleasure. Take care.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear from you! Thank you. :)


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